Blurred Lines
by Enjorous
Summary: A young wizard wanders into the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, he quickly realizes that he's walked into a world that wasn't what he was used to, things get more complicated when he meets a young girl who may be a new species of vampire.
1. Chapter 1

First off I would like to say that that any of the Characters that appear in _The Dresden Files_ are owned _**exclusively**_ by Jim Butcher. These include but are not limited to: Harry Dresden, Carlos Ramirez, Anastasia Luccio, Mab, and Titania. Any characters that appear in the _Twilight Saga_ are owned _**exclusively**_ by Stephanie Myer. Again these include but are not limited too: Bella Swan, Charlie Swan, Edward Cullen, Alice Cullen, Carlisle Cullen, and The rest of the Cullen family as well as the werewolf pack. I claim ownership to the main character, Aaron Marsdon, Katherine Ahris, the plot, and all ties formed between The Dresden Files and The Twilight Saga (unless of course the authors want to claim the connections, at which point they own them). This disclaimer goes for all chapters! I gave credit of ownership where it was due. I don't feel the need to do it ever again! At no point in the foreseeable future will I own them; but rest assured if I do I will let everyone know!

One last and very important thing. I wrote this to appeal to fans of both worlds; this means that you don't have to be familiar with **_BOTH_** Twilight and The Dresden Files to enjoy this story.

Chapter 1

I remember the day I got my grey cloak. At that moment I knew that I was a right and true wizard! I was a warden! My greatest dream had come true and at only nineteen, that wasn't necessarily a good thing. Well it had only been my greatest dream for two years, but still. The White Council had fought a long and hard war against the Red Court vampires, and now that there was a ceasefire we had a chance to replenish our ranks. The first order of business was to get wardens where they needed to be, this meant promoting young wizards who had shown a gift for combat (like me!)

I had hoped to be placed somewhere in Midwest (maybe Kansas, I don't think anything magic related happens in Kansas), but no got stuck in middle-of-nowhere-Washington. I didn't have a problem with the regional commander out here, but my sometimes mentor and teacher Harry Dresden was the regional commander of the Midwest. Oh well I guess this place would have to do. I was assigned to keep watch over an area larger than most New England states, from La Push in the West to Seattle in the East, Port Angeles in the North to Olympia in the South. How the hell was I supposed to enforce the law in several Metropolitan cities plus the Olympic National Forest/Park oh I forgot an Indian reservation too?

What the hell it might be fun! Before I packed up everything I owned, which admittedly wouldn't fill the U-Haul I rented; I called Carlos Ramirez (he is my boss after all.) He was the youngest of the regional commanders in the U.S.

"Password?" said a crackled voice on the other end of the line. That seems to happen a lot with a wizard on both ends of the phone. Wizards and technology mix slightly better than oily rags and a Zippo lighter. No ones quite figured out the reason. Some think that it has to do with how accepted technology is in the collective consciousness; I think it has to do more with field of energy wizards emit that screw with delicate electric gizmos.

I gave my password to the voice it only took four tries and a little shouting before he understood it, and before you ask, I'm not going to tell, I don't give my password out all willy-nilly.

"Marsdon," Ramirez's voice crackled on "what can I do for ya?" he said in a deep voice with a barely recognizable Mexican accent (what do you expect his name is Carlos Ramirez and he's from California).

"I was wondering what intel you had on the area I'm assigned." I asked specifically choosing the word 'intel' to appeal to his militaristic ideals of being a warden. After all we are the wizard equivalent of a police force and an army. If I had talked to anyone else on the White Council I would have said information or news; really anything beside 'intel'.

"Not much I'm afraid. There are only a five or six wizards in that entire area, there are about one hundred or so non-council practioners. There pretty well connected to each other; someone set up a network so they can protect each other." Near a small town called Spoons or some nonsense small hick town are a coven of eight or so vampires." He replied

"Did you not want to begin with bad news?" I asked the sarcasm dripping from my mouth. Wonderful, vampires it wasn't like we had a tenuous peace agreement at best with them. Oh wait ya we do! "What court are we dealing with?" I had to ask this question two times before Ramirez understood it. I really shouldn't have gone with the cordless phone. I need to scour garage sales for an old rotary dial phone.

"Aaron, I'm going to be honest with you, I don't know. As far as the Council's concerned they are not affiliated politically with any court. They're not signed onto the Unseelie Accords. We have no intel on their motives or their names for that matter. What we do know is that they are somewhere between Red Court vampires and White court_._ I nicknamed them Rose court. Pretty clever, right?" I grunted my approval. "They have human form that is strikingly beautiful, but feed on blood. We believe that they are physically very strong, but they may not even know that the magic community is anything more than the stuff of fairy tales. Like I said there are eight of them. The youngest is a male approximately 110 years, physically he's seventeen, he's an empath; we're not sure how strong his gift is or how well he can read minds. A female, slightly older, 115 maybe also seventeen physically is a seer again we don't know how powerful. Marsdon be careful if they need to be taken down call in backup."

"Gotcha boss." I replied, "Any ideas on how to conceal myself, I don't want them to know about me until I'm good and ready. If they don't have control over them it might be a moot point, but I'd rather live to tell the story."

"I'm not that good at concealment. Call Harry, his new apprentice Molly is supposed to be some sort of prodigy when it comes to concealment." For some strange reason Ramirez came through crystal clear. It didn't last very long before a huge static burst nearly destroyed my ear drum.

"Ya, that shouldn't be to hard," I said with sarcasm dripping from my mouth. What was I supposed to say? 'Hey Harry, sorry I tried to kill you. I thought that you actually took up the Knight's mantle for the Winter Court and got twisted with power.' Maybe I could skip the middleman and call Molly directly. After all I think that we're still reasonably good friends. Oh that's right I never met her.

"Alright if you find anything let me know. Ramirez out"

"Marsdon out." One of these day's I'm going to convince Ramirez that being a wizard and a warden is nothing like the old spy movies; good-bye, bye, see ya, really anything else is a hell of a lot better.

I then hung up the phone before disconnecting it and putting it in the box marked _kitchen stuff and sharp things. _ Most of my stuff was packed and already in the U-Haul outside. This was the last box that I was going to toss into the back. The rest were my magic supplies: staff, blasting rod, potion making ingredients some precious metals, candles that held my emergency wards. That doesn't include cloak and sword. These were going to ride up front with me. Since I picked up Harry Dresden's knack for getting into trouble all the time, I like to keep my magic 'stuff' close to me.

I decided that calling Harry when I got to Washington was soon enough. January in central California meant that there was a fog blanket that would make London proud. Driving in this would be a challenge even if I didn't have to worry about my headlights going out on me. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time I like being a wizard, love it even, but there are times when I miss being able to use a computer or listen to the radio while driving. I came into my power in a big way when I was 16. That's pretty late in the wizarding world most come into their powers at eleven twelve, maybe as late as fourteen, but not much later.

At the time I was working at Best Buy in Columbia, Missouri. No one ever determined a cause to that fire, it was ruled an 'unpreventable accident' which I think is code for no clue; however I have a feeling it started when the TV's I was standing by exploded. I was tapped fairly quickly by the White Council after that, with power like that they couldn't risk me going rogue and hurting innocents. That was during the height of the war against the Red Court. I had seen more combat during those three years than most wizards see in their unnaturally long lifetime. I found that I had a knack for combat magic, and was fighting along side wizards five or six times my age. If you want to know I prefer fire and lighting magic and let me say I can put on a mean light show when I want to.

Let me see that was most of my life story and I wasn't even to the Oregon border yet. Sigh. This is going to be a really, really, really long drive.

I pulled into a rest area just over the Washington border to find a place to set up. I pulled a map of Washington State out of my coat pocket and unfolded it. I was surprised how easily I found the town I was looking for; Ramirez was wrong, sort of, it wasn't Spoons it was Forks and it was in the middle of freakin' nowhere. I couldn't find a town that I could blend in anywhere close enough to scout out the vampire activity.

I checked around the rest area for a payphone and found one near the bathrooms that hadn't been cleaned since Moses was wandering around the desert. I fished out change and made a call. Had I been on good terms with Harry I would have called collect.

"Hello" came a voice that belonged to a person that was either half asleep or had one terrible cold. In other words, it sounded like Harry.

"Harry," I gulped at least he was probably too tired to hang up on me, "its Aaron. I need your help." I held my breath as I waited for a response.

"Why, have you decided to try and kill me again, so you want me to tell you how to do it over the phone?" Oh god what did I get myself into.

"Harry, I… I… I'm sorry, but I think I'm in over my head. I'm assigned to go scout out some serious vampire activity, one of them is a seer and another is an empath. I didn't know who else I could call." Let's hope that he would accept and be willing to help me. I knew I was taking one hell of a chance, but I figured I would be as good as dead if I didn't get any help

"Kid, two things; first slow down, second, I forgive you, you did exactly what I would have done, what I taught you to do. Come on your talking to the guy that blew the head off of Captain Luccio without really knowing that a necromancer had taken over her body. Don't get me wrong this doesn't mean that I'm not pissed but I do forgive you. What do you need?" Oh thank god that worked. Ok where to start. I knew he would forgive me; that's what a friend/teacher/mentor is for. I still haven't forgiven myself yet.

"I need to know about seers or more specifically how to avoid them seeing me. And I kinda need to know how to avoid an empath reading my thoughts" I responded.

"Well I'm glad you only have a small problem. Hell's bells kid I don't have the slightest idea. You should avoid intending to go anywhere near the seer. They see a person on their chosen path if you 'choose' not to go anywhere near them then they won't see you. The empath unless he's trained probably can't get past the most basic thoughts. I would continue to sing a song in your head if you have to go anywhere near them." For someone who was either half asleep or half dead he was on top of his game. I knew I learned from the best.

The pay phone started demanding more money which I begrudgingly gave. I think that the payphone wants more money from me than from normal people. "Any ideas on how to actually surprise them? There isn't a town of decent size within fifty miles."

"Oh you should know this. You were a damn actor in high school and you do a better British accent than half of the Brits I've met. Pretend you're a foreign exchange student. That will get you into the town and draw some suspicion off of you." Son of a bitch he was right I could easily pull that off. Except for my wardrobe, I'm not exactly up on the latest fashion, definitely more so than Harry. What the hell I have everything to win and nothing to lose. The worst case I just disappear into Seattle.

"Please insert twenty-five cents for three more minutes." The computer voice chirped. Damn it, damn it, and double damn it! I knew I should have called him collect.

"Harry I gotta go, the machine is taking all my money and I need to get a storage unit and call a cab, or something."

"Alright kid, I'll talk to Bob and see what he can…" Sigh, of course the phone would cut him off. Okay phone book time. First things first storage unit, it's not like I can show up as an exchange student with a box marked _kitchen stuff and sharp things. _ Ok 'S' senior care, no, sports equipment, no not really, here we go storage. U-Store (people should realize that putting U in front of something doesn't make it clever) should work; cheap, small, no question, and good ole fashion pad locks. Of course it's over a hundred miles from Forks, in Aberdeen. That means if I need any kitchen stuff or sharp things I'm pretty much screwed over. Some things you just have to sacrifice.

Well now I guess I have to get back on the road. Man I hate driving through Washington, well I hate driving period (but I digress), it's nothing but green. Green leaves, green dirt, green trees, green grass, green sky. Okay, okay the sky is slightly grey but my eyes are permanently tinted green. The only highlight in this gruesome trip is that I got a chance to come up with a decent back-story for the new Brit. Name, Aaron Brown (Have you ever heard a more English name?) from Maidstone, Kent, just south-east of London for those people not familiar, or just too lazy to Google it. I was 'educated' at the Bower Grove School. All that I got out of an atlas from 1995. Coming up with the cover is the easy part, selling it is far, far more difficult; plus I have to somehow forge transfer papers from not one but two different countries. Its times like these I wish I could just go into Kinko's and photocopy what I need; I mean I could try, but I would in all likelihood blow the place sky high the moment I walk in. Ideally I could whip up a spell and magically forge the transfer and enrollment papers, but that's damn near impossible I simply don't have the control. Oh well I'll try and wing it!

One of these day's I'll try to come up with a magic that keeps all other magic out without frying the electronics inside. I have one that works for a little while but not for more than an hour. This is the time I wish I had real world contacts that I could count on to do computer type (pun emphatically indented) things. I could only get so far playing the 'my papers got lost' card; sooner or later I would have to show someone actual papers. I'm beginning to think going undercover was a seriously bad idea.

One, I have no papers (wow am I beginning to sound like a scratched CD, I would say broken record but not many people understand that any more;) two, I have no host family; three, if I get host family I doubt I can cast any magic around them; four someone will eventually notice a bunch of circles around; five, how long before I fry something at the school; six, okay I don't actually have a six but come on aren't five damning reasons enough.

Harry would be pissed at me for actually trying to plan something, he preferred flying by the seat of his pants.

I'm regretting my decision to do my job and investigate a possible problem. Maybe I should just go straight to Seattle and become a PWI (that stands for private wizard investigator clever I know) like Dresden. No, no I forgot I have a little insanity when it comes doing what is right, for all I know those vampires are responsible for most of the deaths in Washington State, they are Rose Court after all. Ramirez would be beaming if he knew that his new vampire type had caught on.

I found my way to the storage place and left all but my essentials there. I packed my blasting rod and a couple of magic texts pertaining to vampires into a leather satchel. My staff and sword went into a long leather carrier I had made to conceal them, really it was just a bat bag I butchered and put back together. I put all of my clothes into a couple of suitcases (not even the fancy ones with the rollers plain ole fashion suitcases); I had to leave most of my potion supplies and magic texts behind. If only I had a spirit of intellect like Harry had Bob. I changed into green striped button-up, kaki slacks and a black pea coat, and slung all of the crap back into the U-haul.

Destination Aberdeen then Forks!

I wish that wizards would hurry up and find a faster way to travel. I could have gone through the Nevernever, but then I would have to deal with the fae as well as the other nastier things that live over there.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I managed to get in and out of U-Store without raising a single eyebrow and got back on the road. Destination Forks. After more than two solid hours of intense, and I do mean intense, boredom I caught a glimpse of the city limit sign and breathed a sigh of relief. I made it! Now comes the hard part.

It didn't take terribly long to find the local U-Haul and return the truck without saying a single word. I kept my luggage and other bags with me I figured I could ditch them somewhere for a moment or two if I needed to. I wondered around what I figured to be the downtown area trying to find a suitable mark as a host family. I think that I was sitting on that bench for the better part of a Saturday afternoon before I found someone that met my needs. I needed someone who doesn't look to closely to people around him, who worked long hours, and had his mind preoccupied most of the time. That normally equates to doctors or cops. I found a cop! Now all I need to do is follow him for a few minutes to get his name and any family he had. Hopefully he doesn't ask too many question I'm good, but I'm not good enough to dodge all the questions. He walked into the local diner (The Lodge really ;) and sat down. I may not be good with veils but I can blend in when I want to, so I stashed my luggage, except for my leather messenger bag, in the bushes, and followed him into the diner and sat in the booth behind him with my back to him and picked up the menu. The waitress walked over to him first and made idle chit-chat that only coffee-house waitresses are good at.

"So Chief Swan what can I do ya for today," Score one for the Wizard I now have a name for my new host pappy! Oh wait I'm supposed to be a proper Englishman not a backwoods hick (I always get those two mixed up.) My new host _father_, I corrected. The waitress continued "Is Bella coming or are ya going it alone tonight?"

"It's just me tonight; Bella has too much homework to come out tonight." Ok make that score two for the Wizard; I have a name for the host family, Chief Swan and a daughter Bella. At least she sounds like a daughter. Unless I just walked into Deliverance. Now to put this plan into motion.

I got up and causally walked out of the Diner and down to the corner. I buttoned up my shirt, cuffs, and all; then put on my black pea coat, and the finishing touch I pulled out a small black umbrella out of the right waist pocket. I buttoned my coat up and then extended the umbrella. I dropped whatever simple veil I had put around myself and I felt the stares almost immediately. This really is small town one new person and everyone stops to gawk. I was slightly afraid that I would cause a traffic accident.

I turned around and walked back into the diner and up to the waitress "Excuse me miss." I said in my impeccable British accent.

"Have a seat anywhere hun," I cringed, why in the world do waitresses always have to call you 'hun' or darlin'.

"Actually," I replied "I'm looking for Chief Swan. Is he in here by chance?" Sometimes I honestly amaze myself. This is one of those times. Of course my best quality is my humility.

"Ya he's sitin' over in the corner" she said pointing right at him.

"Thank you, miss." I said as I smiled. This was the last chance I had to turn around and walked out. I have no papers, no exchange organization name, no transcript. Screw it I have to go for it now; otherwise I'll lose any surprise I might still have. I pushed this out of my mind for the time being, I concentrated on making everything work, the power positive thinking right?

"Excuse me Chief Swan." I started. My mind was racing criticizing every little imperfection with my accent and every nervous tick. Focus Marsdon A game time work on selling the cover as a whole not just the accent.

"You're new around here. How can I help you?" he was perfectly polite, but not outwardly friendly.

"I'm Aaron Brown, the exchange student." I said like he should know what I'm talking about.

"You say that like I should know what you mean." Was he psychic? I did my best to look shocked and confused, of course it's hard to control the little things when you're my heart is beating out of my chest.

"I'm supposed to be staying with you for six months. I have the paperwork in my bag here if you'd like to see it." This is one of those times where I truly impress myself. I could only hope that he wouldn't call my bluff right away.

"No one ever talked to me about this." He replied curtly.

I put my shocked face on before responding. "I'm truly sorry and I don't meant to sound selfish, but what am I going to do? I flew into Seattle and took a cab out here. I honestly have no place to go."

"When would we be able to sort this thing out? You can stay at my house until we can sort this thing out." He replied.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, but this must be some sort of mix up. I was actually hoping to see how American law enforcement operates." Oh please, please, please hope playing to his ego works. I said as I mentally crossed my fingers.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he gestured me to sit across from him. I think that this is actually working. Everyone wants to be respected, fake interest in what they do and they'll be more willing to help. Or so I've learned.

"My dad is the chief inspector in Maidstone, where I'm from. I specifically asked to stay with a member of law enforcement. Not to be pushy, but I have my luggage outside and I don't really want it to get stolen…"

"Absolutely bring it in; we can put it in the cruiser later." Without hesitation I got up and went back out to the bushes. I looked into the bag for some paper to try and fake some notes between me and whomever I needed to have notes from. When I opened the bag there was a folder I didn't remember putting in the bag. I opened it up and low and behold there were faked transcripts, transfer papers, and all other things that were associated with an exchange student.

I did write a note, just one that reminded me to ask Harry about it the next time I called him. Must be some form of spontaneous magic that I'd never heard of. That's beside the point; I grabbed my sword bag, slung it over my shoulder, then picked up the two suitcases and walked back into the diner.

"Chief Swan," I began as I walked back to the table in the corner.

"Please, call me Charlie." He corrected

"All right than Charlie, I thought you might like to look at the paperwork to make sure I didn't make a mistake." I said handing him the newly created folder.

He looked through it, a lot closer than I had so far, and seemed to be genuinely impressed. "I see a lot of law enforcement classes are you interested in joining the force?"

"In a matter of speaking," Fuck I wish I had read through my transcripts at least a little bit. Must lie fast and convincingly; "well yes, umm sort of." I said trying to by some time. "I actually want to be a criminal profiler." I lied, well it wasn't a whole lie I did want to do that until I came into my powers. That or a surgeon, but that's not really the point right now.

"Oh I see," he replied, "I'm afraid that our local high school doesn't offer any of those kinds of classes."

"It's quite alright, I really wanted to get out of the country for little while and see what life was like on the other side of the pond." I'm starting to scare myself; I think at the end of this I'm going to actually turn into a Brit. Remember it's a cover and only a cover that you have to keep up until you're able to assess and deal with the vampires here.

"Well I do hope you enjoy it here. Oh I'm just about finished here; if you want something to eat we can get it to go." Ok this is going to be easier than I thought it would be, I've managed to somehow fake my transcript and all other paperwork and convinced the chief of police that I was supposed to live with him, without really trying.

"No thanks, between the eleven hour flight the cab ride from the airport and waiting until I could find you I'm just plain exhausted." I replied, it was more or less the truth except that the eleven hour flight was in reality close to an eighteen hour drive.

"That's fine, let me take one of those suitcases, looks like you have enough stuff to carry." I'm truly surprised by how quickly he'd warmed up to me, I guess playing to his ego really worked.

"Thanks." I said as he grabbed one and walked towards the door.

"Don't mention it," he replied as he opened the door before turning back to wave a quick goodbye to the waitress. "I'm parked just over here." He said indicating the stereotypical police cruiser. He opened the car and I followed his lead by tossing my stuff in the back seat.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Have I mentioned lately that I can't stand the greenness of the Olympic National Forest? Well I do, and it looks almost greener at night than it does during the day. It was a good fifteen minutes from the diner to his humble house. Compared to my old apartment and Harry's basement it was a mansion. There was of course no driveway, but who needs one of those, he pulled up next to a pickup that looked like it had been through World War Two and lived to tell the tale. The house itself looked well kept; it was a small two story piece that was dwarfed by the trees and the green around it.

I know I've said it before but I want to see another color besides green. I'll say it again I want another color here! Maybe blue or red. Yes, definitely red. Anyway I digress.

I grabbed my suitcases and other crap out of the back of the cruiser and followed Charlie into the house. He indicated for me to put my stuff down just inside the front door.

"Bella," He called, "could you come down here for a minute." Oh god, here comes an awkward introduction. I don't think this is going to turn out well. I heard a clearly audible "ugh." Obviously we were interrupting something. The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood up, something was seriously not right. I touched the wall and extended my sense outward, I'm the first to admit that my magical sense isn't the strongest, but something this obvious I can normally pick up on. Upstairs there was a void, I can't quite explain it, but there was a space of nothingness I could sense the TV, the lights, the people, but there was a giant cold spot that I couldn't explain. I didn't dare use the sight, the sight is incredibly powerful tool that wizards can use to find the true nature of a person, but there is a downside what is seen won't be forgotten. If I were to see something that terrifies me or disgust me I can see it clear as day, a week, a month, a year, or a century later as if it happened five minutes ago. The sense on the other hand is a lot less sensitive it's a feeling as sense, you don't forget them either, but who hasn't been completely terrified at least once their life.

I heard a minor shuffle that Charlie was oblivious too. Anyone can hear the way I do, but all too often people rely on their sight. I just taught myself how to tune out the background noises one at a time and listen only to what I find relevant, a voice, footsteps, etc. Then the handle turned and someone walked out.

Sometimes I wish real life was more like a movie. Just the way that house and living room were set up it would be perfect for a slow motion shot of someone walking down the stairs; I guess if that happened in real life no one would go to the movies, again I digress. Bella, I'm assuming, came into view. She wasn't strikingly beautiful but she was pretty enough. Chestnut hair hung straight and limp past her shoulders, she was also very pale (a terminal condition from living where the sun only dreams of shining.) She might be one of the vampires I was looking for; maybe she was the one causing the cold spot. Whoever she was she seemed really extremely familiar

"Bella, this is Aaron…" he hesitated obviously forgetting my fake last name.

"Brown," I finished for him, "Pleased to meet you Bella." I said putting my hand out. Apparently I'm pretty smooth when I'm English; maybe I should do this full time. Think about the possibilities. Oh yeah that would be fun. I smiled to myself.

"Hi." She said taking my hand. I noted two things about her right away: one she wasn't much of a talker, and two clearly more importantly she wasn't one of the vampires I was looking for. Too warm. Damn, nothing is ever easy. An awkward silence crept into the room.

"Oh, I should have mentioned that Aaron will be staying with us for six months." Charlie stated matter-of-factly, "he's a foreign exchange student." He concluded. I'm no family therapist but I think this family has some serious communication issues. Not one word was wasted on pleasantry.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked somewhere between surprised and pissed.

"I didn't know until today. Paperwork was lost between here and there." Charlie said trying to smooth things over.

"Oh," she said with resignation "I thought this was a lame attempt to set me up." I pretty much stopped paying attention to the conversation at this point although it seemed to go on for a little while longer. I couldn't get over that cold spot earlier. The cold seeped into every part of my body before I knew it my chest had begun to shiver. Still I had to find exactly what caused it, it seemed magical but I can't rule anything out until I get closer. With that realization I came to find I was the object of two rather interesting looks.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled, "long day." I tacked on a tired smile, "you were saying?"

Before either could answer a cell phone rang, considering the proximity to me it was a minor miracle. "Swan," Charlie answered, "Ya right away. Sorry I have to go; Bells help Aaron get settled in. I don't know what time I'll be back. Good night." He added as he walked out the door.

"Sure, see you tomorrow." Bella replied. I'm not sure I like her, she seems too moody. "Charlie asked you if the den was alright."

"That's perfectly fine. Would you mind giving me a hand?" I asked slinging my messenger bag over my shoulder for the, hopefully, last time this evening.

"Sure." She answered taking up one of the suitcases in both hands. Definitely not a vampire. I followed down a very short hallway into a room that could not only be described as a den, but also as a living room. Not what I would like in terms of privacy. Bella set the suitcase down in the middle of the room and I followed suit (even tired I can still get a good pun in.) "Where is the washroom?" I asked hesitating, trying to keep my fake British modesty in my voice.

"It's upstairs, I'll show you." Ok this girl is seriously put off by my presence. Clearly I'm interrupting something.

"I apologize for interrupting whatever you were doing." I hope this works; it would be nice to have a contact at the high school after all at least two of the vampires look like high school aged kids.

"What? Oh it's no problem." She hesitated before answering.

"I should have called last week to tell you and Charlie that I was coming, it was terrible for me to assume everything was all right." I hopped that by apologizing she would open up enough for me to get inside and pry her open.

"Really, it's ok. I just don't open up to people." She responded. Okay close enough no to go for the throat.

"So did we walk in on you and you're boyfriend?" I said with a nice wry smile.

"What!" she exploded. Great now I opened up the hole time to explore.

"I'll take that as a yes." I paused. Her look told me I was right. "I'm sorry that was really none of my business I just wanted to gauge an emotional response from you." I gave a wide smile this time.

"Anyway, bathrooms on the left, there's an extra set of towels below the sink; my rooms straight ahead please stay out." She added icily, before storming off and slamming the door. Damn that went over about as well as I thought.

I went into the bathroom, toiletry kit in hand, and quickly went about doing my erm, business. After brushing my teeth, I thought about the cold spot again if I was right the cold area should be just on the other side of the shared wall.

I extended my sense through the wall trying to get a better read on what was going on. Nothing, that's what it was, it was a void sheer nothingness like something had sucked up all the energy from that area. That's it, it has to be that way, the cold wasn't added, it was made the same way you can make ice by removing all the heat from the water. Oh shit! There were so many things wrong with this picture I couldn't connect the dots fast enough. I needed to talk to Bella immediately.

I held my breath and knocked on her door, I'm civilized enough that I don't go barging into girls' rooms faux English or not. After what seemed like an hour she opened the door. Of course before it opened there was another round of shuffling, and a whisper or two. I couldn't make out any of the words.

"Bella about what I said earlier." I hesitated, "well let's just say that I like to test new relationships with the emotional equivalent of an atomic bomb. I shouldn't have done that after knowing you less than fifteen minutes." I was more sorry that I almost lost my contact in town, than about what I said.

"I can be a little touchy sometime. I accept your apology." She was slightly impatient.

"Do you mind if I come in? I want to talk to you, get some information about the town, people, school; you know the basics." I prodded; I really wanted to see the cold spot with the Sight to confirm my suspicions. I know she's not a vampire, but it seems more than pure chance that there are vampires in the area and there's a supernatural anomaly here. I stopped believing in coincidence a long time ago.

"Sure, come in." She gestured to a desk chair, "you can sit if you like."

"Thank you, and again I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

"So what is it you want to know about Forks?" She asked as she sat cross-legged on her bed.

"Just your basic survival guide. You happen to be one half of the people I know in town." I replied. "Maybe something about the school, people, the basics."

"Well no one knowing your coming might give you an advantage, when I transferred here I was an oddity. The town is really small and anything to break up the monotony is welcomed and swarmed at the same time." As she talked I took the opportunity to listen and open my 'third eye' to get a look at her closet. I exhaled focusing on opening the sight, the familiar pinch in my forehead as it opened. I quickly focused on the closet, and what do you know I was absolutely right there was a void.

How do I describe it to someone who has never seen it? Imagine that there is a blue light superimposed over everything and in that light is everything magical that is normally invisible to the naked eye. With it you can see what a persons' psyche looks like and psychic damage; as well as seeing traps and other things concealed by veils and glamours. But this, this was sheer nothingness; it unnerved me that something could absorb that magic for such a long time. At the edges of this void magic was slowly making its way back inside, I consider that a good sign. Of course anything that sucked magic up would be particularly hard to kill.

Bella was still talking, but not in a giddy schoolgirl kind of way about what teachers were good, who to sit with at lunch, exactly the kind of stuff I had asked her. When she had finished her rambling I had asked the question I wanted too and where she never went, "Are there any people I should stay away from, anyone strange?"

"Well that would depend who you ask, most people around here would say that the Cullens should be avoided." She answered, softly.

"I'm not asking most people, I'm asking you" I replied with the same softness in my voice. The way she sounded it was clear that she was close to the Cullens'.

"I like the Cullens. They're good people, but they insulate themselves and people find it creepy that Dr. Cullen adopted some really distant relatives on two different sides and some of them are 'together' if you know what I mean." I could tell she wasn't telling the whole truth.

"Well, it's late." I said getting up, there was nothing more she would give me tonight. "I'm going to bed, I don't sleep well as it is and I do have to get up eight hours early tomorrow. Good night." I said walking out.

"Good night." She said.

I learned a long time ago that when you get a chance to sleep take it. At least I have a name to go on, Cullen.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

I tried to sleep. I really did, sleep hasn't come easily for a long time. I guess watching people die will do that to a person. I tried therapy but that, that didn't do a damn bit of good. I wasn't expecting it too; I had to avoid talking about what was causing me to lose sleep.

When I do sleep I dream of Her. I don't know who she is, where she came from, or why she haunts me. I know I didn't see her die, I didn't kill her; there is no reason for her to be there. She never speaks, but her liquid hazel eyes bore into my mind, my soul, every night. I want her gone. If she spoke maybe I would change my mind, or if she showed me something more.

Normally I walk when I can't sleep; sometimes all night, but it never helps, she's there the next night and the night after and the night after that. I finally decided that lying there wasn't going to solve anything, I might as well do some reading, maybe something will come to me, and I can get a head start on what I need to do. The faster I can get my job done the faster I can get out of here and start doing something else. Anything else. Maybe if I read enough I'll just pass out on this almost comfortable couch.

I got up and turned on the light. Squinting I grabbed one of the leather-bound tomes out of my messenger bag. It's the kind of book you think of when someone says wizard. It's large, the pages are yellow, and the cover is stamped in gold _Vampyre_. I opened the book and skimmed through the first two hundred pages until I found something that made me cringe. I don't normally put stock into any form of prophecy, but this one was a little two perfect, "In the town where many roads meet and the sun ne'er shine/ there resides a maiden with her father, the prefect/ this maid, fair by name, shall bear the dhampir into this world/ with the cold one who is able to hear what can not be heard."

Prophecies are cryptic because they aren't meant to be figured out until after the event has occurred; just look at Nostradamus. It doesn't help that to predict the future in any but the vaguest of sense is punishable by death. This one; however, was oddly specific to someone in my position. Nobody in the rest of the world would give it a second glance.

First line, "In a town where many roads diverge and the sun never shines." Points where roads diverge are called forks in the road; so a town called Forks. This Forks is located in an area where the sun rarely shines. A prefect normally refers to a mayor or a police chief; so the chief's daughter. Dhampir is a term I'm not familiar with, but the last part points to someone who can read minds, the empath; leading me to believe that it's a half-human and half-vampire hybrid. Vampires can not conceive children with humans or anything else for that matter. Oh good god! It's never good to have a mythical pregnancy. Of course prophecies don't have to come true, and often times don't; but it's necessary not to act on the information unless I have too. Most prophecies are fulfilled because people put their effort into stopping them. I tried putting all of this out of my mind. Nothing is for certain and for all I know the vampires will be dead inside a week. There's nothing that I can't put off until morning.

I put the book back into the bag, turned the light out and went back to sleep. This time sleep came easily, the exhaustion had finally taken me.

_There she was, leaning against the door frame, staring at me. Those damn hazel eyes again. I knew I had to get past her; there was something in that room I had to get to. "Please move, let me pass." She remained silent, "You will let me through NOW!" I said taking the hard line. She smiled at me with her radiant smile, and gently shook her head; her raven black hair swayed with her. "Who are you? Please tell me. I need to know." Her mouth opened. She was going to speak; she was going to let me pass. Before she could answer she turned and walked back into the room, before she faded into the mist. I passed into the room she had blocked me from. _

_The room was stark white and empty. There was a noise, faint at first I couldn't make quite make it out, but it slowly got louder. It was crying. It was a baby; hidden in the corner, wrapped in white that matched the brightness of the room. I picked her up and cradled her in my arms. I don't know how I knew it was a girl, but I did. The crying gave way to a soft gurgling sound, and I smiled to myself. I turned around; she was back. She was not an imposing figure but she scared me this time. She was dressed in a black dress that flowed on to the floor. Her arms were bare and were crossed in front of her chest. Her skin was almost as white as the room around us. "Is she yours? Is this what you were keeping me from?"_

_Again she said nothing, she pointed to my arms. I looked down to the infant cradled in my arms; the white cloth was now a bright crimson, and she made no sounds. "Are you here to keep this from happening?" She came to me slowly, her arms outstretched, silently asking for the child. _

_I gave her up. I felt the child would be safe with her. I loved her, I don't know why but I wanted to take her in my arms right than. I took a step forward when she turned, the pinnacle of grace and beauty, and walked out "Don't go! Stay, please!" I called after her. She stopped. Again she turned to face me. She looked right at me with the same intensity as before. This time it was different her eyes were no longer golden, they were red, the color of blood. I froze, I couldn't breathe._

I bolted upright, completely drenched in sweat. The dream again. Always the same, the same dream I'd had for weeks. It constantly reminded me of the Ghost of Christmas yet to come from _A Christmas Carol. _ The shade had taught Scrooge something important. She showed me nothing I could make out. I took a ragged breath, then a second; I tried getting my mind in order. Muted grey light shone in through blinds telling me it must be morning. What day was it? I remember driving; I remember sitting on the park bench; that was Saturday afternoon, must me Sunday. Eighteen hours worth of driving and at least two months of not really sleeping had started taking its' toll on me. I sure as hell wasn't myself this morning; I couldn't come up with a sarcastic remark to save my life.

My stomach rumbled and brought me firm into this world again, the dream, the prophecy, hell even my job could wait until I scarffed down some breakfast. My head was starting to pound from the lack of food consumption. I got dressed in something very similar to what I had on yesterday; dark green button up shirt with black vertical stripes and dark blue jeans. Before I left I made sure everything was picked up, the absolute last thing I need right now is someone walking in and seeing my vampire primer lying on the floor.

Surprise, surprise no one else was up first thing on a Sunday morning. I made my way into the kitchen and foraged around. I had my mind set on bacon and eggs; naturally I couldn't find either in the fridge. I settled for the Cheerios I found in the cupboard instead. I poured them into a bowl along with some milk and sat down at the table, and silently ate. I ate slowly; by the time I was only halfway done when they got completely soggy. Even after I was finished I sat at the table and stared out the window. I'm beginning to doubt I would recognize the sun when I saw it.

I knew this job wasn't going to be fun; I want to find these god awful vampires and be done with it. Maybe I could avoid a fight with them, lay down the law keep them from eating a noticeable amount of people, and leave. Of course there were no positive scenarios; maybe they were members of the Fellowship of Saint Giles? Good guys who turn against their instincts and fight their own kind. I finished eating the gruel and decided I would try and clear my head and blow off some steam.

Of course I couldn't cast any magic. Can't let the little seer see what I truly am can I. Not that that stops me from working on my sword technique or throwing some serious power into the ground just to release some of it.

I went back, grabbed my sword bag, and headed out. I thought it polite to leave a note "Went for a walk about eight, be back by eleven – Aaron".


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

I walked straight for the woods, of course in this area woods were in any direction, but I went straight out the front door and took a left at the third tree. The area was a little uneven, so it was less of a walk and definitely more of a hike. After thirty minutes, and a nice little workout, I had found myself a nice little clearing. The area was a little more than ten feet in diameter. On two 'sides' there were fallen logs, but the center was relatively flat. Not the most ideal place to do some sword work, but this is where I would be fighting if there was fighting to be done.

What the fuck.

Normally I would take this chance to throw a little kinetic energy around, then maybe a little air magic, definitely avoiding fire and lightning (my specialty.) Today would be a little boring. I set my bag carefully against a tree before taking off my shirt, leaving me in jeans and a tee shirt.

I knelt on the ground outstretching my arm and spreading my palm, placing it on the ground. It was cool and damp, and frankly kind of gross, like mud that hasn't quite dried since before there were dinosaurs. I built up a huge amount of energy, before I released it. I held it in as long as I could; It felt like a high fever burning through my entire body. My joints ached, I wanted to puke, and pass out.

I released it into the ground, before I could follow through with any of those wants; and felt better almost immediately. Normally this amount of force would be enough to destroy a wall, or at least punt a bus for a hundred feet; but focused on the Earth the only effect was a wave of relief. And a small tremor, no more than point five on the Richter Scale.

I couldn't believe how much better I felt, the weight of the dream was lifted, the gravity of the situation had receded some, and I felt at peace. I sat on a log starring at a tree until I felt the urge to move.

I jumped up and grabbed my sword out of the bag; admittedly it wasn't as smooth as I wanted it, I swear that it did not want to come out of the bag. I made a mental note to oil the blade and practice that draw in the future.

I felt the weight of the sword in my hand, or rather the lack of weight, I never thought that I would use a rapier; I figured a giant broadsword, or maybe a pair of short swords, but not a rapier. Rapiers aren't really for fighting, there for fencing, fencing isn't fighting; it's dancing, with swords.

Of course that decision wasn't up to me. All swords wardens use are made the same way. The captain brings a sword blank, the warden places his or her hands on the blank, and focuses some will on it. At that point the right sword is imprinted on the blank. Then all the captain has to do is forge the sword. Some come out as sabers, broadswords, long swords, but for some reason most come out as rapiers. But they fit the warden like a glove.

I'm decent when it comes to swordplay, mainly it's because I practice all the time. It relaxes me, what can I say. I have good speed, good strength, and one hell of a lunge; that's what happens when you're just over six two and carry a ton of muscle in your legs.

There's a rush I get when I'm using my sword, granted that I haven't been in real fights much, well none actually. The swords pretty new, newer than the last couple of battles I was in. None of that stops me from honing my technique as much as I can.

I tossed the sword from hand to hand a few times getting comfortable in my little clearing. I tried a little formal foot work. Shuffle, step, shuffle, step, rinse, repeat, shuffle, step. This translates into something similar to the duel in _The Princess Bride_. It was clinical and technically perfect. Of course I couldn't use any of that in a real fight. Instead I decided that learning to run with my blade in this mess was much better.

This wasn't working, swords are fun magic is much, much funner. I know funner is not exactly a word, but I think that this is an appropriate time to use it. I'm frustrated by this whole lack of magic; my world has revolved around it for almost four years now. It wouldn't be a problem if I weren't a perfectionist! Every time I cast a spell I see a flaw in it, either in concept or execution, and I would repeat it again and again until it was as close to perfect as I could get it.

I was close to saying, 'Screw it!' I thought about marching right over to the Cullen's place and grilling them on the spot, why try and hide what I am use the fear to my advantage.

Of course they could sense my coming prepare to kill me and do it as soon as I get close. Glass half full Marsdon, glass half full. This plan was probably for the best, maybe it wasn't the Cullens after all, for all I knew.

At this point I was sure of exactly three things: one, I wanted to get this over with; two, I don't like vampires; and three, I had an itch on the bottom of my foot that just wouldn't go away.

That last one is easily remedied. I sheathed my sword and put it back into its' carrying bag with my staff. I sat on the left hand log bordering the clearing and untied my tennis shoe (not the best choice of foot ware for hiking I might add.) The log was cold and covered in moss; I definitely need to remember not to sit on moss in the future. I ripped my shoe off followed closely by my sock and scratched my foot so hard I thought it might bleed. It didn't of course, but it felt like a little slice of heaven.

That's when it happened, bad shit always happens when you're inconvenienced. I had this terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach and the hair on the back of my neck stood up again. Fuck. Twice in two days. I barely had enough time to react to what was happening, let alone put my shoe on.

Before I could even think I dove off the log towards my bag. Just as I did that a great _whoosh_ past over where I was just sitting. I landed just out of arms reach of my bag, not to mention on top of quite possibly the only exposed rock within a hundred feet. Ouch, fuck! My brain stuttered before it started working again, my would be assailant thought I was down for the count and made a fatal miscalculation.

He did the stereotypical stand over the body and gloat move. Terrible idea when you're fighting a wizard. And of course I was dealing with a vampire; all the signs were there: blood red eyes, way to pallid skin, ungodly good looks, and of course speed and strength no human could ever match. I called up a huge amount of force, much bigger than the blast I had put into the ground. I was forced to I haven't mastered the fine control of evocation yet and without my staff as a focus I had to use twice the amount of force I would normally use.

As he kneeled over his 'victim' snarling, I put my hand flat against his sternum, before looking him square in the eyes and yelling "Frozare!" The wave of kinetic energy hit him like a small bus, or at least a large SUV. He flew off of me like a stunt double in a bad Kung-Fu movie. It only bought me a precious few seconds but it was enough for me to reach my sword. I grabbed the handle of the sword with two hands. Not the proper technique I know, but desperate measures and all that.

I turned to find the vampire charging at me at full speed. Something slightly more visible than a total blur. I tried to sidestep this charge but my barefoot slipped off of something wet and slimy causing me to loose balance and fall, again. Oh good god, that rock is out to have me killed!

This is not my day.

Calling up that last blast of energy had knocked the wind out of me. I gave myself a small break and relaxed. That lasted a whole tenth of a second before I rolled and got to my feet, again. He charged me again, I'm glad this guy doesn't really know how to fight; he's going straight on instinct and not thinking anything through. I readied myself for this charge; I braced myself as best as I could in one shoe on a very slippery patch of ground. He came at me hard and fast; I could tell he wanted to end this as much as I did.

At the last second I slashed downward aiming for his knees at the same time I sidestepped, successfully, out of his reach. My sword is designed to cut straight through any magic or magical entity, and while vampires don't normally use magic they have some of it stashed somewhere. Knowing all of this I was surprised when the light cut I used to cut a tendon or two went straight through to the bone. My stroke landed just above his knee. He tumbled head over heals before falling on the same rock I had. That is a seriously mean rock. It doesn't care what it kills.

He screamed in pain as he laid there, hell I couldn't blame him he'd just received on hell of a paper cut. He didn't try to get up; he looked toward me snarling something fiercely primal. Thick, dark red blood began to flow freely from the wound much to slowly to be human. Think molasses in January.

I'm not the kind that normally kills first and asks questions later, but when I'm attacked without warning I tend to do the opposite. I walked straight over and stabbed him through the heart; or tried to at least. He'd just been playing possum. He grabbed my ankle in an inhuman vice grip, burying his nails in my leg. I screamed something that admittedly was not as heroic as I intended, that didn't last long. He pulled my leg out from under me. I hit the ground with a loud thump. It took a moment before I caught my breath again.

The bastard tried to stand again, but couldn't. The cut to his leg kept him from standing completely. He shifted all of his weight to the good leg and let the other hang there for support. He gave a deep guttural growl before jumping down me. I managed to thrust the blade up and into his heart started to run down the blade covering my hand in jellied blood. He let out one last gasp before collapsing on top of me.

I rolled him off of me, and went back to the log I had been sitting before all this had happened. I finally had the opportunity to put my shoe back on and I took it, if something else wanted to attack me it would have to deal with a fully clothed me!

The real question: what do I do with the body? Unlike in the movies most vampire corpses don't burst into flames, or turn to dust. They just stay there and rot, a lot like a human corpse. I could set it on fire, fire normally destroys most kinds of bodies, then of course I could set the entire forest on fire, that would be bad, or the smoke could attract people, if there was smoke.

I can't risk a body being found here so I had to dispose of it. I wiped my sword on the towel I keep at the bottom of the bag for just such emergencies and stowed it back in the bag wiping my hands and face off. I casually tossed the shirt and towel on the corpse. From my bag I pulled a thickly carved length of ash, the Norse runes running along the staff glowed red as I gripped it. Only occasionally do I use it for fire magic, but this is one of those times. I held the staff in a normal short hand grip pointing the tip of it towards the corpse, which began to decompose rather quickly fouling up the air around me with a stench like a rotten egg covered in limburger cheese and crammed in an old shoe. I focused on creating a small controlled column of fire; I thought it best to avoid a thirty foot arc.

I took one long deep breath focused my will and said, "Fira," with some intensity. The fire poured out the other end. Most people are spoiled with advanced CGI in films; in the real world fire magic is a lot less pretty. Real fire magic looks exactly like flame from a flamethrower, but with a tighter stream. The spell worked like I had hoped, a bright yellow column of fire spewed from the tip encompassing the head, than torso and arms, then finally the legs. A thick dark plume of purple smoked curled up form the body, but soon it was over and the remaining smoke dissipated.

Angrily, I shoved my staff back into the bag, turning on my heals.

Playtime is over, my cover is over; time to act and act quickly. It's time to get some real information from Bella, none of that mild prodding, full on smoke filled interrogation room, single light in the center on a flimsy cord. I was going to go Film Noir on her!

I grabbed my shirt and bag and ran back as fast as I could, not bothering to put the shirt on until I got within sight of her house. The earlier cloud cover had broken up some and there was a hint of sun peeking through. I was muddy, wet, dirty, and royally pissed off. This was going to come to head a lot faster than I wanted too, I haven't done any preparation, and I don't have a plan. I just know that if I was attacked once it would happen again, and again, and eventually innocent people would be hurt in their wake. I'm not about to let that happen.

I had no need for secrecy anymore if the seer wanted to know what was unleashed, so be it. They would know that I was a wizard and hopefully would know some measure of my combat prowess. I was provoked, as soon as I had any information I was going to make a call straight to Captain Luccio, and get as many wardens down here as I could to destroy the coven. Originally I wanted to resolve this matter peacefully but I was wrong. Nothing is ever easy. I shook my head.

When I arrived back at the house the police cruiser was gone. Thankfully the old Chevy was still there. I walked into the house and stopped. I heard voices coming form the second floor. One female, definitely Bella, and one male I didn't know, that much didn't surprise me. I stretched out my senses again; the cold spot was back and bigger than last night. There was definitely something supernatural up there, most likely a vampire. Show of force time. I don't think this is going to end well, I barely survived one when I was a full strength, now I may have to fight one tired and dirty. I ran back to my 'room' to get my blasting rod and my shield bracelet. My rod was like my staff, but was designed for me to use lightning based magic, most people who saw it would call it a wand, but 'wand' isn't as intimidating as 'blasting rod'. My shield bracelet was a braided silver band with a dozen tiny medieval shields dangling from it. Harry helped me design it to block kinetic energy.

I headed upstairs blasting rod in my left hand, sword in my right. I thought about listening to conversation, but I was already to go guns blazing so to speak. Without another thought I opened the door. I held my breath as I entered the room. And I held my bowels when I looked in. They weren't exactly going at it but it was pretty damn close. They didn't notice me when I entered, or for the next thirty seconds as I stared dumbfounded. Had I just wandered into bizarro world? The vampire was actually shining; they just don't put things like that into the books. I was seriously confused, was this vampire, I saw enough of him to be sure he was a vampire, a part of the coven that tried to kill me? Only one way to find out.

I cleared my throat to indicate they'd been caught. What followed was the typical shuffling of sheets and clothes as the tried to act innocent. "Relax I don't care what you've been doing." I dropped the fake British accent, Bella looked surprised by this, "No, I'm not really English, I'm a wizard." I said matter of factly; I received two perfectly perplexed stares. "You're a vampire sparkles," damn I'm clever "and you're sliding into third with a vampire, Bella, and you don't believe I'm a real live wizard!" I should have been angry, after all some just tried to kill me, but I couldn't help laughing. Those two must have thought I was out of my mind, but holy shit it was funny. "Okay," I said putting my serious face back on, "I need to talk to both of you. I'll give you five minutes to get dressed, if either of you try to leave I'll turn you both into rabbits and tour the Pacific Northwest with you in a magic act. Do we have an understanding?" The last part came out a little darker than I had intended, but hell it was ten thirty in the morning and I've already had a bad day.

The two nodded in agreement. "I'm going to be right outside this door, don't try going out the window." I walked out the door and shutting it most of the way. I figured I had thirty seconds before they tried to go out the window; that means I would go back in after I counted to fifteen. Man that was a long, long fifteen seconds. I pushed the door open and strolled in. Apparently I interrupted them climbing out the window. "I'm not going to hurt either of you but we need to talk. I'm relatively easy going, but I'm not going to take no for an answer here."

"Okay I'll be willing to answer your questions if you answer mine." Sparkles said.

"I go first. A simple one, what's your name." I responded

"Edward Cullen, same question."

"Aaron Marsdon, Warden of the White Council. My turn, I killed a vampire this morning, his eyes were red, yours aren't, why?" Bella was getting uncomfortable; to her we must have looked like two dogs deciding whether or not to fight. It wasn't to far from the truth; I did everything I could to keep up a tough appearance, if it came to a fight I would make a good show but in this confined space I could just as easily kill Bella. That in turn would get me killed.

"My kind, have red eyes if they feed on Humans, gold if they don't. My family chooses to feed on animals. What's a warden and what's the White Council?"

"The White Council, are the more powerful practioners of magic, they act as a government of sorts. The wardens are the police and the army of the White Council. How many members are there in your 'family' and have any of them been feeding on humans recently?" I was beginning to think that this was a waste of time.

"There are Seven: my father, Carlisle; my mother, Esme; my two sisters Rosalie and Alice; and my two brothers Emmet and Jasper. Not one of them has fed on human blood. Why are you here?" This confirmed my previous suspicion about the royal waste of time. Edward didn't know anything, but someone in his family might. The seer perhaps.

"I have three more questions," I began, "If you wish to ask me three more be my guest. After." I paused, waiting for a cue to continue, after a tense pause he gave a slight nod. "First if I want you to look at a sketch of the vampire that attacked me this morning just to see if you recognize him; second I would like to meet with your family, will you arrange it; third would you let me speak with Bella in private? As to your question I am the warden charged with keeping the metaphysical peace in this area."

"Yes, to all three questions. I'll go home and talk to my family about this, bring the picture and you can show it to all of us. I'll call when things are ready." I nodded. He gave Bella a quick kiss before he went out the window. Here's a guy that doesn't know what a door's for. After he left I turned to Bella who had no idea what had just happened. She looked scared and on the verge of tears; I saw all the signs when Sparkles and I were talking. I walked over to her desk and leaned my sword against it and laid my blasting rod on the desk.

I gestured for Bella to sit, I had to give her credit; she had just stared down a very tense situation and didn't blink, the least I could do was answer her questions. As she sat I followed her lead and sat in the desk chair. A mirror image of last night.

"Bella, I didn't want it to happen this way. It was luck, or chance, or fate that I showed up here last night I chose a person at random that looked like he worked long hours. I didn't want to drag anyone unnecessary into this. I apologize. Before you ask I was never going to turn you into a rabbit, it's actually against the rules." The last comment brought the slightest of smiles to her face. "If its okay with you can I ask a few questions? Before I do is there anything that you want to ask me, I'll tell you truth, you deserve it."

She nodded, "Why did you lie?" Simple, honest to the point, she was definitely growing on me.

"You know that Sparkles err umm Edward and his family are vampires?" she nodded "Well one of them is an empath, someone who can read minds; and one of them is a seer, one who can see the future. I wanted to hide from them, meet them on my terms. That didn't happen."

"What are you going to do now?" She had a hidden motive here, but I didn't press it. Her body language, said it all 'are you going to kill them?'

"I'm going to meet with them. If they really don't eat people I'm going to ask for their help. There is going to be a serious problem around here very soon. Hunting during the day is very conspicuous. Something you do when you're either stupid, or overconfident, or worse." She relaxed and slumped down on her bed. I thought I saw tear roll down her cheek. "I'll leave you alone then. When he calls please answer it." She nodded. I got up and began to leave before I had cleared the doorway I cam back in a step and said, "If you want come, I'd be happy to have you as my second." She looked at me. "It means you come to the meeting and take over if I die." I said cheerfully. "It's a formality. Besides I uh need a ride, and I know you want to be there." I said using a normal nothing special tone, I wanted her to relax.

"Okay." She looked a bit more relaxed but still too tense and nervous. "I'll come. By the way, Edward is the one who can read thoughts, and Alice is the one who can see the future."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Okay, now I have nothing but questions, where did the transfer papers come from? Not terribly pressing; I'll ignore it for now. Who attacked me, and why in the morning? Am I going to be walking out of that meeting knowing anymore than I do now? Did it target me specifically or was I in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Okay, one thing at a time. I need to sit down and sketch out the cur that attacked me (one point for me I got a chance to call somebody a cur!) Generally when it comes to art I'm about as good as a lemur with cerebral palsy. My one saving grace is that I can draw a half decent portrait from memory. I emphasize the halfway part of that last statement. I think that I'm somewhere between a street side caricature artist and a professional sketch artist. This one; however, was going to be particularly difficult.

For the most part if something is attacking me I focus less on the face and more on the bits that could kill me, knives, guns, claws, teeth, poisoned spit, and a couple I don't want to relive. Just the thought of it makes me want to vomit. I could give a good detailed description of the mouth, but the rest of the face is just a bit on the hazy side. Okay, think. I closed my eyes and let my hand do the work.

His jaw, it was blunt, but not too strong; his chin was cleft. His lips were rather thin; cheeks were full, not thin, and not plump. High cheekbones bordering on feminine, but definitely male. Nose was normal for someone white; it was outrageously normal, absolutely nothing special about it. It wasn't pointed, but it wasn't blunt; it wasn't turned up, but it didn't hook down. Eyes were almond shaped and rather far apart. Eyebrows were extremely close to the eyes. High forehead, rather squared. Ears where swept back. His hair was the most distinguishing part of him. At one point it had to be high and fluffy, like a fizzy poodle, but not curly; wavy maybe. Maybe it was combed back. It was strait, with a slight wave to it. By the time I saw it, it was matted down with mud. I'm only guessing to the way it would normally look.

I put the finishing touches on it. Definitely not my best work, but the fight was hectic and fast. The best look I got was after I stabbed him in the chest, and before he hit the ground, five seconds at the most, two at the least. I racked my brain for any other detail I could get and I came up with absolutely nothing. It was the best I could do, but it wasn't right.

It was all I had. Have I mentioned lately that I'm a perfectionist?

My feet ached, my ankle was throbbing, I must have sprained it earlier, and the adrenaline kept me from noticing. I also reeked of something that could only be described as wet dog mixed with burned hair. I was definitely going to need a shower or at least a fresh change of clothes before I went anywhere.

Everything was moving too fast. My head was spinning, too many things swirling around up there; the dreams, the prophecy, the attack, the feral vampire. Was I the common denominator here? I have to deal one at a time. If I go off in a million directions at once, someone innocent will get hurt, Bella, Charlie, Sparkles (well those are the only three people I know within a thousand miles.) What I need is at least one good night's sleep, without being plagued by that dream. Short of that a good meal would do wonders. I can't remember the last time I ate something with more than two components.

Step one on a road to a happier shit hole, change clothes. I quickly stripped down enjoying the lack of putrid smell. I disposed of them into a black trash bag. It would be a miracle if they ever smelled right again, fortunately my shirt smelled reasonably normal. I grabbed a new set of clothes out of my suitcase; I'm starting to run out at an alarming rate. Note to self, self get more clothes, or find a washing machine. I also grabbed my grey cloak; it might be a good idea to look close to official. Now to wait; when dealing with nigh-on immortal creatures time is never a factor they concern themselves with; however, when you're a mortal waiting on an immortal the wait sucks. Plain and simple. Well since there's nothing better to do; may as well take a nap.

I stretched out on the couched, closing my eyes. It didn't take long before I dozed off. Not long after that I started to dream. _I was standing alone in the heart of an old growth forest. The canopy kept me from the sun, I was cold, I was in pain. Looking down I saw the blood seeping from my leg, the wound was identical to the one I gave to… I gave to… someone. I took a step forward before crashing down with pain. I tried to stand again. I failed, the pain was exquisite. I screamed out. I lay there, sobbing. The pain was spreading into my abdomen and up into my chest. I couldn't move anymore, I couldn't scream. I only wanted to die._

_The mist rolled in, shrouding everything. I could barely make out the shapes of the nearest trees. "God I'm going to die here." I coughed out in a hoarse whisper. Then a bright light surrounded me pulled at me from a dozen different directions. Everything went black. Slowly my sight came back to me I wasn't in the forest anymore. I was lying on the cold stone floor of an old building. It may have been a crumbling lighthouse, or an old watchtower; whatever it was the walls were high and the stone floor was cold. I tried to move, I couldn't. I was chained. I looked around trying to see anything that might help me escape._

_I was no longer alone; three sets of eyes bore down on me. The first was Her, she had the same intense glare that haunted me. The second I recognized, Katherine, the only girl that I had ever loved, and I killed her. The third was the one I had killed today. His shirt was stained in blood. _

_I started shaking, shivering. I couldn't control a muscle in my body._

I bolted up. I couldn't say the last time I woke up normally. I blinked a few times, trying to focus my eyes. My breathing was hard and raspy, all the soreness and pain had a chance to really set in.

"Bad dream?" A familiar voice asked. I couldn't put a name to it just yet.

"Yes, you could say that, what's up?" I felt absolutely sick, the pain, the fear, the realization that I was walking into the lions den soon was setting in.

"Edward called; we're supposed to meet them at their house in one hour." She said. The fog was lifting, her name is Bella.

"How long will it take to get there?" I asked. At least I managed to get some rest. I still wanted to grab something to eat before leaving.

"Half hour give or take." She answered.

"Did you tell him that you were coming? I was hoping to surprise them."

"I didn't say anything about it, but with Alice they probably know." Wow I had actually completely forgotten about the seer.

"We should probably leave now. I don't want to leave anything to chance. Are you nervous?"

"Yes." She replied meekly.

"Tell you the truth, so am I." I gave a small smile before grabbing my cloak and walking out of the room. I was tempted to put it on, then I remembered what Harry had said 'cloaks and cars do not mix.'


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

There were two things keeping the ride completely silent. One was the truck, who knew a fifty-something year old truck would be so noisy. The second was the occasional reminder from my stomach that I was starving. Any other time eating would be my first priority, now I don't think I could eat anything if I wanted too. Plain and simple I was too nervous. Neither of us said a single word on the ride over. I can't say for sure what Bella was thinking; worrying if she was smart. I was simply rehearsing what I was going to say, I knew that five seconds into it nerves would take over, but it still wouldn't hurt.

The ride proved to me that there was in fact more green in the world, after arriving in town I would have thought the world had run out of green. I had too much time to think today and not nearly enough time to act. The prophecy began nagging at me again, two days ago it would have meant nothing to me. Now I was worried, there was a good chance that someone else had seen the prophecy and was trying to stop if from happening. The easy target would be Bella, Edward is a lot stronger, faster, and has six other people willing to fight for him. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if it was someone close to Edward maybe even one of his 'family.' That could explain why the attack happened so close to her house. Of course absolutely none of this meant anything without a single shred of proof.

I still had next to nothing on the Rose Court as a whole. My primer (the gold standard,) which is supposedly a one stop shop for all things vampire and vampire related, hadn't helped me at all. It talked vaguely about something that seemed like they might possibly be Rose Court. Nothing on their activities, I wasn't even sure if they were signed onto The Accords. If they weren't signed on I couldn't guarantee my safety. Of course they hadn't done anything to hurt Bella, but I'm a White Council warden, and that normally entails that people/vampire/demons/faeries/warlocks/wizards hate you. It's a safe bet that any vampire older than say about two hundred and fifty years has probably had some run in with a warden at least once.

Bella's truck sputtered to a stop. It took me a moment to realize this glaring fact. I stepped out into the cold rain and shuddered. I slipped into the grey warden's cloak and pulled up the hood. The cloak is not warm but it does look cool, and the hood completes the look. Ok this would be the time I need to look on the positive side. I more than likely will not be torn apart and eaten; I may be bludgeoned and end up bruised, but not dead.

I purposely left all my tools of the trade back at Bella's house. A gesture of good will, if you will (did you get the pun?) I barely survived fighting one; even full armed there isn't a chance in hell of me coming out of that house alive if things got ugly. I did keep my shield bracelet, which might give me an edge to get out, not like I'm fast enough to outrun them. I'm thinking positive, nice civilized meeting, good people, reliable information, and nothing goes wrong. Nothing goes wrong. Nothing goes wrong. Nothing goes wrong. And for good measure, nothing goes wrong. I took a deep breath and began the seemingly endless walk to the front door. I think I know the feeling condemned criminals feel when they walk to the death chamber.

"Bella, I want you to stay behind me."

"You're worrying too much, Aaron. They're not going to hurt us." She replied. I hate when someone else knows more about a potentially bad situation, than I do. Especially, and I can't emphasize this enough, when it's my ass on the line.

I knocked, three times, gently. A host of bad possibilities ran into my head, killed, chopped up into little pieces, mounted on the wall, eaten, turned; the last one terrified me. I gain immortality at the cost of my magic, the same magic that grant me an unnaturally long life as it was, and at the cost of my soul. I shuddered, think positive Marsdon. God damn it think on the fucking positive side for once in your life.

After two and two thirds eternities the door finally opened. The bubble of anticipation burst with a small child sized pop.

On the other side of the door was a young woman, possibly mid to late twenties in physical age, but probably closer to a few hundred years. It's just so gosh darn hard to tell! Of course she was unnaturally beautiful. What is it about immortal types and beauty? The more immortal they are the more beautiful they become, god the thought of it's enough to make me sick.

"Hello, I'm Aaron Marsdon, Warden of the White Council of Wizards. This is my second Isabella Swan, representative of the local mortal community. May we come in?" I said as diplomatically as possible. Sometimes I just want to say what I mean and not worry about the consequences.

"Bella is always welcome here, as for you I will not invite you in." She replied. Someone here has had run-ins with wizards. Any house that's occupied has something called a threshold, think of it as a big magical security fence. Things like demons or faeries can't cross it at all without being invited in. Wizards are mortal, so we can cross the threshold without an invitation (although it is considered rude,) but as a consequence we leave much of our power at the door. So what she really said was something like, 'you can come in, but your powers can't.'

"I understand…" I looked at her to finish the sentence. It is polite after all to introduce yourself.

"Esme." She replied coolly. Apparently I should have been nicer to Sparkles earlier, but I wasn't thinking I was reacting.

"I understand, Esme." I said as I crossed into the threshold. It was an odd sensation, it was like a weight had been taken off my shoulder and replaced by another different type of weight.

"Please follow me." I did as she asked; of course Bella hadn't listened to me. Damn that girl no sense of self preservation. She had already gone in.

The house was not what I had expected, the few vampires… residences I had been in seemed to favor the heavy Victorian furniture, with old portraits on the wall, and few if any windows. This was just the opposite, it was very modern, a lot of stainless steel, and glass, and a ton of very expensive looking electronics. Of course there were obligatory portraits. I think that not inviting me in was a way to protect their home, just as much as it was about protecting themselves.

I followed Esme into a large long room. In the corner was a grand piano, a Steinway if I'm not mistaken, of course they had to be rich too, damn these immortal types. The chairs in the room did not belong there; they must have been brought in for the meeting. They were arranged in a semicircle around one chair, the only chair that was empty. Bella was sitting in Sparkles' lap; to their left was a petite brunette (something about her was eerily familiar.) In the middle sat Carlisle, I was sure of it, he had a presence that screamed patriarch. Next to him sat Esme, trying to look completely neutral. Next to here was a brick wall of a man, tall, and thick with slabs of muscle. The last on in the line was a pretty blonde cheerleader type who looked royally unhappy and outrageously pissed. One, two, three, four, five, six; there should be seven.

"I'm Carlisle, you've met Esme, to her left is Emmet, and Rosalie. To my right is Alice, and I believe you know Edward." Carlisle said politely. "Warden, please sit."

"Please call me Aaron." I said as I sat in the seat. "I wanted to meet you for two reasons, one I'm the new warden for this area, and two, earlier this morning I was attacked by a Rose Court vampire." I took the initiative in the conversation. "Let me also say that if you are half as decent as Bella leads me to believe you are; I don't see why we can't get along."

"You don't think that one of us attacked you?" Slabs asked letting out a loud bitter laugh.

"No one in this room attacked me."

"Of course not," Little miss perfect retorted.

"No one in this room attacked me, because the one that attacked me is dead." I was tempted to make a face at the blonde, but that would cause more harm and barely make me feel better.

"Why are you asking us then?" The brunette asked. For some reason I couldn't come up with a smartass nickname for her.

"I've been in this area less than a day, you've been here longer. I figure you guys might know who he is." I fished my sketch from my back pocket, unfolded it and handed it across to Carlisle. He wouldn't be someone to play poker with, his tell was almost unnoticeable, and had I not been on high alert I wouldn't have noticed his eyes widened for a fraction of a second, he knew exactly who it was.

He passed the picture to his right. She too reacted, only hers was the emotional equivalent of an atom bomb.

"No! No! This is wrong. You're wrong! This is impossible!" She descended into a series of sobs and moans. Sometime during all of this the picture had fallen to the floor, and was forgotten. I never meant to hurt anyone like this. "How could you do this!" she roared taking on the same feral aggression as He had earlier. "Jasper would never, never attack anyone!" She was out of her chair before I could even blink; I knew something bad was going to happen. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared at this point, I had no chance to fight her off if she went for me. My only hope was someone stopping her before she could snap my neck. But just as suddenly as the rage had come it left.

She skipped bargaining all together and went straight for depression. The intense rage of a moment ago had dissipated like water spilling out of a glass. She sobbed quietly collapsing to the floor, in any other situation I would have taken her into my arms and let her cry. I killed him; I killed the one person that she loved above all others. I was the last person that should help her.

I looked to everyone, and found them looking back at me. I couldn't believe that they were focusing on me instead of helping her.

"Edward, why don't you and Bella take Alice to her room." I said, barely above a whisper. I got a silent eye based thank you. Bella got out of Sparkles' lap and knelt on the floor beside her gently taking her hand, and whispered something I couldn't hear. Edward picked her up effortlessly and carried her out of the room.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The five of us sat in stony silence for an hour, or a year, possibly a decade; it was just so hard to tell. I could feel the silence killing me. I had to break it, I needed to break it, but I couldn't!

"I'm sorry." I dropped all pretense of authority.

"That's all you have to say. You're sorry." The perfect one said. It took all my self control to not punch her in the face. That and the simple fact that punching her would break every bone in my hand and of course I don't hit girls unless they've tried to kill me first. Oh I hope she tries to kill me!

"Rosalie, please." Esme said trying to throw water on a big pile of gunpowder.

"No, Rosalie is right. Sometimes, sorry, is all you have!" I said looking right at her. "I killed him yes. I regret that I had to, but I fought for my life and I won. That I am not sorry for." I was on the verge of breaking down, I had been hitting raw nerve after raw nerve, since I got here. I've been fighting for long enough. More than anything I never want to have to kill again." I had to fight back tears. By seeing what I had done to decent people, hit a nerve I didn't know existed. "I have to know if he was acting strange lately, maybe something made him do this." I said trying to bring myself back on track.

"The one who would know is Alice. I haven't noticed anything." Carlisle said. Everyone else shook their heads in a silent 'no.'

"I know, and I know what it's like losing someone you love. I am not going to ask her that question now." I over enunciated every syllable of the last sentence to emphasize my intent. There was no way I could go probing around in her life before the wounds even stopped bleeding.

I rose from the chair, gently. "I will not ask her any, any questions about this matter. But, I will talk to her." I left without giving them enough time to say anything. The could have stopped me, but they chose not to. I know the pain, all to well. It's the kind that can completely consume you if you allow it. Even when it's not slowly eating its way through you it's a weight that you can never quite shrug off.

I still heard her quiet sobs coming from the second floor. She'd settled nicely into the depression stage. I found my way around the house well enough, to give myself a wide berth of anything that looked expensive and electronic. No one followed me, no one tried to stop me from trying to talk to Alice. If it was possible I actually felt sorry for a bunch of vampires. I didn't think that would ever happen after I'd seen what they were capable of doing. I eventually found my way down a hall with Edward standing vigil at the doorway.

"How is she?" I asked in complete honesty.

"She's hurting, who wouldn't be?" He replied curtly

I tried to walk past him, but of course he stopped me. I looked him square in the face, carefully avoiding full eye contact, I was almost positive that he didn't have a soul, but I didn't want to risk a soulgaze.

The old saying 'the eyes are the window to the soul' is actually very, very true. When a wizard looks into the eyes of a mortal, or anything with a soul, although there are very few others; he or she creates a portal between the two. The portal allows both parties to see, or sense, everything about the other. I don't like people poking around in my head, so I avoid it at all costs.

"I need to talk to her; I think I might be able to help." I've learned a thing or two about being intimidating. Unfortunately it doesn't work on someone who could break me in half like a rebellious pencil. So I tried for compassion.

"You don't know her; what makes you think you can help." Now he was intimidating, his voice was completely smooth with anger smoldering just underneath; something I couldn't match if I tried. I was still going to try

"You're right, I don't know her. I do; however, know what it's like to lose the one person you love." I continued along the same compassionate line.

"Bella's in there right now. Promise me that you won't do anything to hurt her more." The anger was burning out replaced by pain. Death is something that echoes around the living. One person grieves and everyone around her feels the pain, unless of course they're a complete asshole. Fortunately he doesn't seem to be an asshole

"I swear, I won't ask. Here hold onto this." I said handing him my grey warden's cloak. If I went in there it would be as me, Aaron Marsdon, not Warden Marsdon. Edward begrudgingly took the cloak and stepped aside giving me one final glare as I walked in.

Alice was curled into a tight ball on a couch thing, it probably has a real name, but I don't know a sofa from a settee (I don't even know what a settee is). Bella was sitting next to her gently stroking her hair. There was something so familiar about this scene but I couldn't place it. A dream maybe. I didn't want to disturb it, I thought about turning around and leaving before either knew I was there. I started walking out the door when between sobs Alice said "I don't want to talk to you." Bella then turned and cast a harsh glare my way.

"Ok in that case, I'll talk you listen. Bella could you give us minute?" I said in a very soft voice. I'm not entirely sure where that voice came from.

For the first time since I met her Bella complied.

She stood up and walked out without looking at me. When she got to the door she turned back and said "I'll be right back."

"Alice, I know it's not much comfort but I'm sorry. I know what it feels like, the pain eating away at your chest, and I wish I could tell you that it will go away, but the truth is it won't." I sighed, "I'm the last one you want to talk to, I know, but the only woman I have ever loved is dead." I paused and took a long hitched breath. I've never told anyone about what happened to Katherine. My lips started quivering just thinking about what the next words out of my mouth would be. "And I killed her." I felt the tears streaming down my face; I did my best not to let it into my voice.

"What happened?" Alice choked out. She was desperate to talk about anything but the pain.

"I'd known Katherine almost my entire life; she was the only friend I had when I was a kid, naturally we were very close. It grew from there, by the time we were in high school, I couldn't imagine spending a moment without her, I loved her, and she loved me. The kind of all consuming love that most people only dream of. Everything changed when we were sixteen. Everything. That's when I came into my magic. That's when I learned everything there was to my new life and the unnaturally long life that went along with it. As if that wasn't enough she found out a few months later that her father, who abandoned her and her mother well before she was born, was a faerie I'm not sure what kind of faerie her father was, but I would bet that he wasn't someone strong."

"That made her a changeling, half human and half faerie, she had a choice now, choose to become a fae or choose to become human." The tears were still coming; I took a step towards where Alice still lay in a tight ball. I continued. "I tried to convince her to become completely human, that way we could be together, I made the mistake of telling her that my magic would keep me alive for centuries, but we could be together. She tried to dodge the issue for two years. The longer she went without making a decision the more the fae in her took control. The changes were small at first. Her hair turned silver, not grey, not white, silver." Just the mental picture made the tears come even faster. "Then she got cold, her skin felt like ice. Of course then she became more beautiful, not that she wasn't before, but this was different."

"But, the Winter Fae are notorious for tempting their changelings. They offered her power, wealth, beauty, magic, and immortality. It was more than I could offer her. All I could offer was love. She didn't realize what she was giving up; she thought she was doing this so we could be together for hundreds of years. And I have to say that at that point three or four hundred years didn't seem very long. It didn't work, she changed, she lost her free will, and she lost everything that I had loved about her. She wasn't the same, she was a shell, and I still loved her."

"The queen, Mab, yes like in Shakespeare, thought she could use this as a power play to get me or my mentor Harry to become her knight; her mortal champion. Mab used Katherine to get to me and used me to get to Harry. All the while she whispered to Katherine that I was betraying her, cheating on her, trying to kill her. Anything and everything imaginable she could use she did."

"When Harry and I tried to convince her she'd been lied to, she got angry and told me what I had done to her. That Mab couldn't lie to her; but she could suggest them. Lead her to believe that they were true without giving her an answer. She succumbed to her new power. The girl I loved was gone. That apparently wasn't bad enough. She made me try and choose between the new her or death. I couldn't give up my life, like she did. I owed it to _my_ Katherine to say no. She couldn't believe it in rage she attacked me. I caught her in my arms and held her. There were so many times that I held her, but this was different. I kissed her on last time and whispered 'good bye my love'. Before I took a small steel knife and put it through her heart."

At some point in the story she stopped sobbing and looked at me. "I'm sorry." She said looking at me. Her! Alice was the girl in my dream; the one who had been haunting me for so long was sitting her in front of me, short black hair, and golden eyes. It was her. I pushed it to the back of my mind for now, help her first.

"I didn't tell you the story to make you feel sorry for me. I told you so that you knew at least one person had gone through this. Felt this pain." I stared at her waiting for her to say something. Instead she simply returned my gaze, her warm golden eyes met my cold blue ones.

And then it happened.

There was a swift jerk pulling me intestines first, body second. Then I became aware that I felt dizzy, like when someone goes overboard with the spinner in the tea-cups at Disneyland. Once that dizziness left me I was left with the overwhelming sensation of cold covering every inch of my body. I looked around; I was in the exact same white hallway that was so frequently in my dreams. This was the same dream I'd been having. Except it wasn't a dream…

It was a soulgaze!

_As I walked down the hallway the bright white slowly faded into a hazy shade of grey. When I got to the doorway, there was no guardian. Alice simply wasn't there. I passed into the room that frequently held the crying child. This time the walls of the room were spattered in blood. Blood that was too pale to be human, then the distinct sound of sobbing came from everywhere and nowhere. I turned to find Alice in the same dress she always reappeared in. Long, flowing, complete ethereal beauty._

_The dress was a shimmering white this time. Or it should have been. It was stained in the same pale blood that covered the walls. Her face was pale and shown signs of pain and melancholy. It; however, was unstained. The blood oozed out of a wound above her left breast. Her walk, no longer graceful, was labored, with a pronounced limp. I rushed to her before she had a chance to fall. My walk was heavy but without pain._

"_I gotcha," I said as I caught her in my arms, "You're safe now." She clung to me, holding me tighter, covering me in the same cold pale blood. The blood was surprisingly warm, it should have been as icy cold as her skin; but it wasn't. She trembled in my arms. I could do nothing but hold her closer._

_For the first time in this room she spoke to me, "Please, help." Her voice was barely a whisper. It echoed for a moment in the quiet room before it was all over. _

I somehow pulled myself back into reality, or rather was pushed back into it. I was still sitting on the couch-thing, next to Alice, still staring into her golden eyes. A soulgaze, I just soulgazed her, Alice has a soul! A vampire with a soul, this was worthy of calling Ripley's!

Oh god what had she seen, her eyes betrayed nothing. It felt like hours later, but a soulgaze only lasts for a few seconds in actual time. She couldn't know what had happened. I could have stopped to explain, or I could have acted on instinct. I chose the latter.

I took her in my arms, and held her close to me; her tears left small water marks on my shirt. I didn't move. It had been far too long since I had been this close to another person. Her coldness was comforting, it reminded me of Katherine. I kissed the top of her head, whispering "I will." I said answering her souls question.

I have no idea how long we sat there, I sure as hell didn't want to pull away, and I hadn't felt like this for far too long. She gently stirred in my arms, and slowly pulled away from me. "If I look you in the eye again, what will happen," she said as she avoided looking directly at me.

"Nothing, a soulgaze only happens once." She looked up at me again. This time I promise I will give up trying to figure out why things happen, from now on I will just go with it. Especially when it involves a beautiful girl in my arms.

"What did I see?" She asked seemingly oblivious to the fact that her love had died earlier today.

"You saw into my soul, when I saw into yours. It's called a soulgaze, it's incredibly powerful." I always liked talking about magic, but right here I actually felt like an expert, not just like a twenty-one year old novice. "I don't want to know what saw, I'm afraid of what's in there."

"What did you see?"

"I saw someone who is hurting and needs help," It was probably for the best that I left the blood covering her out of the explanation.

Sometime during this exchange, or possibly before the soulgaze someone had crept into the room, in fact from the sound of it, two people. "Do you two need a minute, should we come back." Bella of course, she kept her word. Edward was there too, he probably heard something, either out load, or something we thought.

"No. In fact I need to use the phone, and then I should probably leave. I've done enough damage for one day." I gave a big sigh. The thought of leaving someone this emotionally raw upset me. Not to mention, the fact that I haven't let myself get that close to a person in a long time.

"Let me show you where the phone is." Edward offered. I stood up, letting my fingertips linger on Alice before leaving. Bella took my vacated seat, and they started talking soft girl talk that I had no interest in; I had some more interesting tidbits. First and foremost Rose Court Vampires have a soul.

That must be why they can turn against their programming and choose to feed on animals rather than humans. I had to tell Harry as soon as possible. Edward navigated through the giant house, until we reached something that resembled a home office. "Phone's in there." He said pointing through door.

"I never got a chance to apologize to you for what happened."

"I'm not the one the one that needs the apology." He returned in the cold angry voice.

"Who then, I've apologized to everyone else."

"I don't know what you did." He began his smoldering eyes focusing on me, this time I was even more careful to avoid eye contact. "But there is _no_ way that Alice could be feeling better so quickly. You used magic on her."

"Wow Sparkles," He glared at me harder, if that was possible, "for someone who has been around a lot longer than I have, you just don't understand loss. She reached acceptance, yes. Maybe I helped her to get there. Would you honestly want her crying for two weeks? She's not better, I saw her soul; there is no lying there. There was a gaping wound that's going to take more than a story, and a hug it fix."

"Then you didn't use magic?"

"No, in fact if I did, I would be guilty of breaking the third law of magic and I would be put to death."

"Even if the other is a vampire?"

"The presence of a soul changes everything." I said as I walked into the office and picked up the phone.

Eddie-boy just stood there like a deer in a headlight. I must have dropped a bomb, with all that talk about vampires having a soul. My thoughts must have been too jumbled for him to pick that out earlier. Now it was time to drop the same bomb a second time. I picked up the phone, it was small, and really, really, really modern. I hoped that the threshold in this house was strong enough to keep me from frying this thing before I could get two words out.

I punched in Harry's phone number and hoped I could catch him before his next crisis. The phone rang once, twice, thrice, forice (I know that's not a real word, but it's time that there is one word for four times!) On the fifth ring the phone was picked up.

"Murmmph." That was definitely in the top three intelligent greetings I ever got from Harry.

"Harry, it's Aaron, you sound like shit." I too have a way with words.

"Cold and flu," The phone wasn't crackling as much as it normally did, hopefully because of the threshold.

"I have some news; first and foremost Rose Court vampires have a soul!" I thought I heard him cough and snort water, or more likely one of Mac's dark ales. Harry believed that that man's beer cured everything from the common cold to cancer.

"What! Are you serious, how do you know?"

"Slow down Harry don't kill yourself. I went to have a sit down with the coven, or well family that lives in this area. I accidentally soulgazed one of them. I'm positive."

"Have you tried soulgazing any of the others?"

"Hell no, I don't want them poking around my head, any more than I want to poke around theirs. Second and a lot less profound, somehow I got all the transfer papers and transcripts I needed, magically."

"Where did they come from?" He sounded healthier, now, then when he answered the phone.

"I have no idea; I talked about the papers for a while with the 'host father' put air quotes around that for me. Then I reached into my messenger bag and there they were all of them. They were forged perfectly, three different signatures that looked like they came from three distinct people."

"Where did you get the bag?"

"It was the only thing of Katherine's that I still have."

"I'll ask Bob, it could be some sort of residual fae magic, or it's something that she imprinted to help if you need something."

"In other words: 'I'll ask Bob, I have no fucking idea.'" I did say I had a gift for words.

"Ya pretty much."

"Okay, I'd better get off the phone, it's incredibly modern and I don't want to rack up a huge long distance bill."

"Stay safe kid, call if you need anything."

"Don't worry I will. If _you_ need anything," I paused "call Molly." He tried to laugh before hanging the phone up. It took me a minute before I found the 'off' button. C'mon give me a break; I've purposefully avoided new technology for the last three years.

"I'm going to leave now. Tell Bella I'll walk back the same way we came." I said walking past Edward.

"I will."

I showed myself out


	9. Chapter 9

Note: I normally don't like author's notes in anything I read (It always takes me out of the flow of things,) so I wanted to make it through the entirety of Blurred Lines without one. Looks like I fail, big time. Since I'm here I want to thank everyone who has read Blurred Lines thus far and especially to the two people who left reviews (mycroft216 and mwjen) they were much appreciated.

And since brevity is the soul of wit; and tediousness its limbs and outward flourishes I will be brief:

Here's chapter nine!

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Chapter 9

Katherine. The name still hurt to think, let alone say. The story had caused old wounds to bleed. I had known that the scars were there, I've been living with them. I always hopped that they wouldn't hurt this much when they were reopened. I guess I was wrong. Suddenly I remembered the good times with her, the memories I wanted to keep. She had been the only person I had ever looked at with my Sight, and she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. The memory of that picture was the only thing that got me through the three months after she died. It has been the only time I was grateful for the fact the Sight never faded.

Now I can remember the good things about her. Like all the times we were ummm 'studying' in bed. Even the good times still make me want to cry. Best not to think about them, or her for now.

The walk before me was long and cold, and dark; I was grateful. There is something almost poetic about walking in the dark. Washington must have been in a drought, though, I had been walking for at least thirty minutes and there hadn't been a single drop of rain.

Walking always helped me think, and I had a lot to think about it, none of it good. Everything was happening way too fast; there would be no reason to go to school after all. Thank God for that. High school sucked enough the first time, I don't want to repeat it. It is a small town after all, and word goes around like cheap whore during fleet week. How many times do I have to say it? I have a gift for words. Fuck it; I'll just go to school. Using a cover was probably the dumbest idea I think I've had in long, long, _long_ while. The real question is: how long will I have to stay, how long can I stay?

And then, of course, there was Alice. I don't know what happened. I'm always good at distancing myself, but not this time. I just can't figure out why? Am I feeling this way because she reminds me of Katherine? Is it because she was in my dreams? Or was it because I wanted to play hero? I knew it wasn't because I felt sorry for her; she had an eternity to find happiness again. Anything but a cordial relationship with her, or any of the others for that matter, would be unacceptable in the eyes of the Council. The Council would probably execute Harry if they knew his half-brother is a white court vampire. For the record or for clarity White Court vampires feed on emotion, lust, fear, anger, pain, etc. Maybe when I'm finished I'll publish a score card just to keep track of the things that go bump in the night.

As I walked on a new question popped into my head. Why do some vampires possess skills that blur the line between what is normal and what is magic? Is it an indicator of magic, is it connected to their soul. Is that why I've never heard of it before? Maybe that will be my life's work, answering that question; after all I do have almost another four hundred years. That seems like such a long time, twenty-four hundred A.D. Maybe by that time NASA will hire wizards to go to space. It will be _Star Trek_ meets _Merlin_. I probably still won't have any answers to anything.

"I saw your face in the morning sun, oh I thought you were there I heard your voice as the wind past me by, silently whispering my name. So many things that I wanted to say, forever left untold. I still remember the tears that you shed over someone else." I sang mostly to myself, my gorgeous golden baritone (humble I know; you don't have to tell me) died when it attempted to pierce the green shield of trees. The song came from somewhere beyond the point where magic touched me and listening to music became more trouble than it was worth. I can't say I ever liked this song, but it seemed somehow appropriate right now.

Of course there was still the prophecy. I don't have to say anything more about that. That cryptic piece of shit, which could mean the end of all vampires, or be the reason an innocent girl gets killed. There's a reason reporting all but the immediate future is forbidden!

And then I turned back to Alice. I'm not sure if I was picturing the real, or the one that haunted my dreams. What am I supposed to do? I literally meet the girl of my dreams, shouldn't my world get turned upside-down. This doesn't happen everyday. It really doesn't happen ever. I can't allow myself to get attached. I can't let myself fall for her, I made that mistake once. I can't leave her alone; she asked for my help. I'd seen her soul. Either way I'm royally fucked, and fucked hard.

I was so lost in my head I failed to hear the roar of the Chevy creeping up beside me. "Do you want the ride, or do you want to walk the rest of the way." Bella's voice was the shock I needed.

"Sorry," I stammered, "I was se-heriously lost in my on little world."

"Thinking about Alice?"

"Of course you would go straight there. Forgetting that there is definitely more at play here, than my apparent lack of a love life. Okay maybe a little." I said indicating the small space between my thumb and forefinger. She just glared at me. I was talking to the girlfriend of an empath; maybe it's rubbing off on her, or maybe it was the fact she was a girl and they seem to know things like this. "Okay, okay a lot. But not in the way you think. I'm guessing that you heard or were told what I said to her." I paused not sure if I should actually say what I was thinking. "What you don't know is what I saw." I told her about a soulgaze and some of what I saw in Alice's head. I felt like I was betraying some sort of trust, but Bella was the one in there with her. I also left out the important details, like oh I don't know, the reoccurring dream starring Alice Cullen and co-starring yours truly.

"Hmmm." She said. Does hmmm qualify as a sentence?

"That's it 'hmmm' looking into someone's soul doesn't even qualify for an 'interesting.'" It was good to tap into the smartass side of me that I had to push aside to use the small part of me that was diplomatic.

"I already knew vampires and werewolves exist. Today I find out wizards and magic exist; that was interesting. I don't see what is so fascinating about looking at a persons' soul." Bella is strange, bordering on weird. She has no sense of self preservation, and things most people would marvel at; she barely gives a second glace. Damn danger magnets, nothing ever moves them.

"Speaking of that, I need something to eat." I know there was no way to link what she just said to food, but gosh darn-it she just insulted my magic.

"I suppose since I'm the woman you expect _me_ to cook?" Oh I expected to see growing puddles of sarcasm on the bench seat between us.

"No, no, absolutely not." I said in mock surprise. "You're a woman, I expect you to cook _dinner._" I said with a nice cheesy smile. "If you do that, I'll cook tomorrow. Provided something hasn't killed me by then; how do you feel about food ending in oni. Hmm?" I said copying her earlier 'sentence.'

"Sounds" she gave a long pause, "revolting!" I had to laugh at that one. In my opinion a high emotion/high stress time needs all the comic relief it can get. Of course when one person laughs at a bad joke it becomes more infections than yawn, in a room full of narcoleptics. Pretty soon we were laughing harder than we had any right to.

The rest of the ride passed in silence. Not an awkward silence, just silence. Well as much silence as you can expect from an engine that was manufactured only ten years after Shakespeare was born. Pretty soon the scenery began to look more familiar; I use more because all walls of green look pretty much the same after a while. Not long after we pulled into the 'drive way.'

"Ugh." I grimaced after seeing the police cruiser. Bella gave me an inquisitive look. "If Charlie's here, that means I have to go back to being English."

"Why English?"

"It's the only accent I can do reliably for more than about an hour." I said going back into my accent.

"Ah, I see" She said. The two of us walked into the house. I made sure to hide all of my wizard type items before we left on the off chance Charlie would beat us back here. I also repacked my suitcases to keep him from getting curious.

"Ch- Dad, we're home!" Bella called as we walked in the front door.

"Just watching hockey," he called back, "hope you don't mind, but I went ahead and picked up some pizza for dinner." That works for me.

"That's fine dad."

"Thanks, Charlie." I added. My accent impeccable as always. Bella walked towards the kitchen, I headed the opposite way towards the stairs. "I'm going to take a shower before I eat." I said, to no one in particular. Just what I don't need, more time to think.

I started up the stairs before I heard Bella say, "Have fun with that." Apparently she heard me

Chapter nine is now one for the books. If your muse descends upon you please review and/or tell your friends about it.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: New update for everyone who has stayed faithful to Blurred Lines. Heads up, this is pretty much a short filler chapter all the way through. I tried taking it out but there were a few important details that wouldn't let me. As always drop a review if you like it, or if you didn't. I promise that it starts to pick up very soon; by the time the story ends I promise there will be a large body count, and a new relationship.

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Chapter 10

Always one to plan a head I stashed a fresh change of clothes in a plastic grocery bag underneath the sink for just such an occasion. I pulled them out and set them neatly on the top of the toilet tank. I went to the shower and turned the hot water on. Oh what a miracle hot water is. If anyone doubts that tell them to live without hot showers or baths for two and a half years. Oh I hope I don't screw up the water heater.

I quickly disrobed and put the dirties back into the plastic bag. I paced around the cramped bathroom waiting for the water to get warm. I finally pulled the curtain aside and stepped in. The hot water felt amazing after three days without any kind of bathing. The dirt washed off of me in waves. I felt free of the events of the past few days. I tried to focus on keeping my mind in the moment. To think nothing of but the shower, the hot water, the smell of the soap. It worked.

For all of three minutes.

Then I got down to business, no big hypothetical questions. Just practical ones. I wanted to keep myself safe, the threshold around the house seemed pretty strong. I wanted to set some sort of wards up, but there was a hitch. Charlie. I need to set up a talisman for each person coming in and out of the house who would actually open the door. That meant I had to make something for both Bella and Charlie that they would carry all the times.

If I tell Bella what it is, and what it's for; she'll carry it. But Charlie, I'm not sure if I can say "You need to carry this all the time because I installed a magic security system that would fry your ass if you tried to open the door without it." Maybe I could make something and have Bella give it to him. That makes about as much sense as any.

I shut off the water. Pushing aside the curtains, I tried to remember where the extra towels were stashed. I smacked myself on the back of the head as I remembered the completely obvious 'hiding' place. After all I did put a change of clothes right on top of them.

I toweled off, and slipped into a new change of clothes. This time something outrageously simple, black t-shit and jeans. I was running out of clean clothes at an alarming rate. That's one thing I refuse to worry about, after all I'm a guy, if it smells clean I can wear it.

My stomach informed me that I was thinking too much and eating too less. I ran my fingers once through my hair and walked back down to the pizza that was more than likely cold.

Cold or not it tasted great! I don't think I could remember the last time food tasted this good. It seemed like an eternity since I had last eaten a real meal. I think it was a Mexican place in central California. That was two or three days ago, all that driving ran together; and I can't remember. I sat at the kitchen table, alone; Charlie was off in living room slash den watching an inane game. Yes I am a guy, no I don't like spots. Now when they start playing baseball with magic then I'll watch.

Bella was probably upstairs waiting for Eddie-boy to show up. For most normal people she was sneaky. I was keenly aware, because I was the same way. Not that I care, provided the prophecy doesn't come true.

With the pizza devoured, I went into the living room, completely unnoticed by Charlie. I grabbed one of my suitcases and rummaged through some books that didn't really matter. I found the one I wanted, this one wasn't as obviously magic, it wasn't nearly as interesting either. It was about diseases and viruses that can affect vampires. I know I know, sounds like a real nail-biter right? The title and most of the beginning were in Latin, or some other dead language I could almost read.

Since I don't have a talking skull that has all the answers, I actually have to read books.

I went back into the front room with the book and a small notepad. This is as good a place as any to start. I don't really want to think about the odds of whatever caused Jasper to rampage being in the book. There were these illnesses plus a whole host of other magical causes. Psychic trauma, mind control, poison, or potion. I was trying to sift through a haystack with a pair of forceps looking for a specific piece of hay.

I skimmed through most of the book looking for the symptoms that match what he looked like this morning. There are about a kerjillion illnesses that cause mindless aggression, and ninety percent of those involve red eyes. Of course they involve that the vampire has a diet of human. Nothing in here about vegetarian vampires. What if it was a real disease that somehow infected him? Lyme disease and rabies are the only two things that come to mind.

Damn it I'm a miracle worker, not a doctor.

It's probably wrong, there's a good chance at least one of them has eaten, or drunk, something that was infected already, and they would have gotten it too. Strike one!

Back to magical causes, back to the book.

After what seemed like four years worth of reading, something that's only English part of the time, I still had almost nothing. Well I can't say that, I had five notebook pages full of possible supernatural illnesses, fortunately none of them are easily communicable. Unfortunately I can't even begin to figure out which one it might be without knowing anything else. All of them are difficult to cure at best. The ingredients for the potions would be either difficult to find or expensive. I'm not fast enough to search myself, and I don't have the money to buy them; and more than likely I don't have the skill to make them. But exact recipes I should be able to get from Harry, or rather Bob.

I feel like I'm playing _House. _But without the limp.

Potions aren't hard to difficult to understand. Each has seven ingredients plus a solvent to mix them in. The first five correspond with each of the five senses: sight, touch, smell, hearing, and taste. The ingredient is meant to link the sense with the intent of the potion. The sixth is an ingredient for the mind, and the seventh is for will. Then you take them and pour a bunch of magical will in there and let simmer for just the right amount of time and then drink. Normal potions will only work for ten minutes to an hour, these are specialty potions meant to cure something so they only work for thirty seconds and infuse the drinker with the cure. Theoretically. I've never seen one of these in action before.

I'm in way over my head.

I need some sleep.

Sometime during the mind-numbing monotony of searching for the holy grail of mythical diseases, Charlie went to bed. Or he had to leave. Obviously I wasn't paying any attention.

I went back into the living room and began making up my 'bed.' The sheets were sitting on top of my suitcase, just where I left them this morning. As I was putting them on the sofa, I became acutely aware of someone watching me. I stopped where I was. I strained to hear even the smallest of sounds, whatever it was it had left or became completely silent.

Never one to take unnecessary chances I went back to my suitcase and grabbed my blasting rod. I tucked it in the couch cushion before walking up to the bathroom. I heard Bella (I really should come up with a condescending nickname for her. Why haven't I?) and Sparkles whispering sickening lovey dovey things; as I was brushing my teeth. I focused on two things; first, keeping my mind blank; two, getting out of earshot as fast as possible. I felt vomit trying to push its way out from the back of my throat.

Walking downstairs, I noticed something was distinctly wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, other than it just wasn't right. The door was locked, the windows were shut, everything was exactly the same but completely different. I checked my right wrist to make sure I still had my shield bracelet on. Finally something is actually going right; sure enough I did.

I readied myself, for a potential attack. The hair of on the back of my neck began to creep up. I quickly scanned the room dark room, noticing nothing. My senses went into hyper-drive. There was no sound, other than the muffled snoring. I thought about opening my sight, but if there was something big and ugly, I sure as hell don't want to remember it for the rest of my life.

I though of my blasting rod tucked into the couch cushions, I wondered if I can get to it time before I get attacked. My sword was still safely tucked in its carrying case even further and more inconvenient. I could throw around some unfocused power, but then I would more than likely damage (or destroy) the house. I stalked down the final three stairs, regretting that I turned off the lights.

I raised a quarter-dome shield. I commonly use a half dome shield, but that's neither here nor there. Normally when I make a shield they come across as a shimmering blue dome; however, this time I put much more will into it. The extra will made the shield transparent. I outstretched my arm part way and carefully crept into the living room.

Maybe I was imagining things? There wasn't anything weird, nothing out of the ordinary; just a bad feeling. I lowered my shield and sighed in relief. I untied the knot that held the bracelet on and placed it on the end table. I slumped down onto the couch and sighed even heavier.

"I must be getting paranoid." I said to the empty darkness around me.

"No you aren't." The darkness spoke back.

Quick note: I'll update a couple more times this weekend (in terms of writing I'm on chapter thirty.) Stay tuned and thanks for reading!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

I almost jumped out of my skin when the voice spoke. My heart tried to beat its' way out of my chest. When there's always someone or something trying to kill you tend to jump first, run second, fight third, and if there's time ask questions eventually.

There was a very feminine (almost girlish) giggle, "I didn't scare you that much, did I?" There was a grey amorphous shape. A ghost? A spirit? Damn, nothing that dramatic. It was Alice wearing my cloak. A wave of relief washed over me.

"Ya, a little. It happens when something is always trying to kill you." I replied in a hushed whisper. My heart rate slowed, a bit. My breathing was still a little ragged. Not fear any more. Nerves, I think.

"I was wrong, you are paranoid." She said with another giggle. No, you can not get involved with a vampire. You can not get involved with a vampire. No matter how beautiful she is. No matter how perfect she is, or how hurt she is. Or no matter how much you want to play the hero.

"Why are you here? I figured you would still be sitting around crying your eyes out." I chided. It probably wasn't the best thing to say.

"You see," she said moving closer to me, "my kind are very easily distracted." She said without any real hint of flirtation, it was rather matter of fact.

"Oh, so that's what I am huh; a distraction." I realized how much different this conversation was then our last one. "How's the pain?" I asked shifting completely to a serious tone.

She grimaced slightly, "It hurts right about here." She said pointing to an area where her heart would be. "It feels like someone cut a hole into me." She wrapped her right arm over her shoulder to shield the wound.

"It's like that anytime someone suffers lost. It's a wound to the psyche." I explained. "It _will_ heal, but it'll take a long time."

She nodded a small nod, "Did you see that? The wound I mean."

"Yes," I whispered, "it wasn't pretty, definitely worse than mine."

"I know you said you didn't want to know. I'm going to tell you anyway." She gave me a coy smile. "I saw someone that looked a lot like you, but older and slightly more muscled. He had a stunned look on his face, and he was covered in blood and scars." The timbre of her voice was different, somewhere between tears and laughing.

"Clearly we are two damaged people." I sighed, "I guess I'm not proving to be much of a distraction." I gave her a slight smile. It was amazing how the muted light danced across her face. She was the most beautiful creature I had seen in a lifetime. Even the tear stain was heavenly. I felt comfortable for the first time in an eternity.

"No you haven't. But I do feel safe with you." She replied scooting even closer.

"I'll alert the press! A vampire felling safe with a Warden." I joked.

"And a Warden, feeling safe with a vampire." She replied.

"I don't feel safe; I've fought vampires too long to feel safe around them." I stated with a bit too much bite on it. This is one of the many times that I spoke first and thought way too late. Truth or not. She stood abruptly, and shrugged off my cloak. I took the opportunity to stretch out across the couch. I waited for Alice to leave. I felt the hurt roll off of her in waves. It crashed into my regret, like waves against a cliff

She didn't leave; she just stood facing the window for a while before saying "How many?"

I knew exactly what she meant. "I stopped counting at nineteen. I couldn't let it reach twenty." I don't talk about the battles or the war much, too ugly, and I saw too many good people die. I saw my friends die.

"I think you're in more pain than I am." She said sitting back down on the couch.

"Maybe," I said, "but my wounds are old, some are scabs, but most of them are just scars." I felt tears welling up. I wanted to push all of these emotions away for a while. "How are you so at ease with the person that killed your love?"

"I was kinda waiting for that question," I hate dealing with seers for this very reason, "Jasper had been different, distant, these past couple of months. We just started drifting apart. He stopped talking to me, or sharing anything. He was always anxious, and got mad to easily. I hid it from Carlisle and everyone else; I just couldn't face the problem. I probably would have broken up with him if we were human." She turned away from me, she was obviously relieved to tell someone this, but by the same token she had to admit that it was real.

I yawned; it had been a long day. I had no answers, only questions. A lot of questions.

"I should go and let you get some sleep." She still didn't face me. She tried to stand up to leave.

I caught her wrist, "It's not the first time I've been without sleep and it sure as hell won't be the last. Stay. Please."

She turned, facing me. Her golden eyes met mine, a far cry from the emotionless eyes of the dream Alice. These were warm with an undertone of sadness. "Are you serious?"

"It'll be the most restful night I've had without sleep." I smiled. I patted the couch next to me turning onto my side. She followed my lead, and lied down next to me. She snuggled very close, but on the small couch there wasn't much choice. Not that I'm complaining. "Did you ever realize that there was a whole other world beyond vampires, and werewolves?"

"No, not really. But we're kind of insular."

"Really? If you isolate yourselves that much, then why did I see a bunch of mortarboards framed in your house?"

"Going to school is about the only thing we can do."

"I don't see how you do that, once was enough for me."

"We do more than repeat high school; we've all been to college once or twice, plus a lot of traveling in between." I wrapped my arm around her waist, I don't know why; but it just felt right. She felt cold, icy; but in the cold that should have felt harsh and foreboding, it felt oddly comforting. Something beyond reminding me of Katherine. "What was your life like before magic?"

"Incredibly normal. I was a straight 'A' student, worked part time in a Best Buy that has since been reduced to a burnt out hulk, thanks in large part to yours truly."

"What happened?"

"I came into my powers about three months after I got the job. One night when I was turning off some of the TVs one exploded out and caught some of the paper and boxes on fire. The next thing I knew more and more TVs were exploding left and right. Had someone died in that fire I would have executed, for breaking the first law."

She giggled that same melodic giggle. "I'm sorry, but up to the executed part it was actually kind of funny." She paused and inhaled deeply. "There are laws to being a wizard?"

"Just seven, there pretty basic, but there's only one punishment. Death." The thought of what the council did as barbaric. Situations didn't matter it all came down to one thing, did you do it. If the answer is yes then it's off with your head, if it's no then it probably still off with your head.

"That's terrible. What are they?" I wasn't sure why she was asking about laws, if it was real curiosity or just not wanting the conversation to end.

"One, don't kill mortals, two, don't transform anyone, three don't mess around in someone's mind, four, don't make someone a slave, five, don't raise the dead, six don't fuck with time, seven don't go past the outer gates. Like I said pretty basic. Any laws you have to obey?"

"Just one, don't expose our secret. If it leaks, the Volturi will kill you." She shuddered, I responded by pulling her closer to me. For the first time her scent became overpowering, the sweet, icy smell. I inhaled it deeply, savoring it. Every rational part of brain said 'end this' 'stop' 'leave, now!' I couldn't I could not move, everything was spinning, everything was perfect. For the first time since…

Then the realization hit me, I'd heard the name Volturi before. "The Volturi, aren't they some brand of immortal?"

"Ya there vampires like me."

"Really!" I said with genuine surprise, "They're signed on the Accords as Free-Holding Lords. They're like a small neutral country." The world was getting smaller. "Would you mind if I went sleep now?"

"Do you want me to go?" she asked in a pouty voice.

"No, please stay, but do me a favor, I know you'll be gone in the morning; wake me before you go. That way I know this wasn't just a dream." I begged.

"Absolutely"

"Thank you," I whispered kissing the back of her head. My lips lingered there a little longer than necessary. I closed my eyes, and soon was asleep.

My dreams took on a different life tonight.

_I was alone again, this time in a place completely alien to me. A big city, like New York maybe. I was alone in the middle of a big city; isolated on a cold sidewalk. The street ahead of me was completely empty and silent. I started walking, past the stores, the offices, the apartments. All silent, all still; I was the only movement in the entire world. The sidewalks were bare, free of people, free of garbage, not even a scrap of paper. The loneliness, the silence, the cold, began to eat at me. _

_I walked on, and on. Sometime later I found myself walking down a dark alley. The silence had rendered me deaf, the cold made me numb, sight was the last sense I had and it was fading. _

_Then a faint melody, of church bells, began drifting down the alley to where I was standing. I followed it, through a winding maze of streets and alleyways. Until I came to the greenest field I had ever seen that stretched far beyond the horizon. The music was coming from somewhere past the field. I walked out trying to find the source of that haunting melody. _

_The frosted grass crunched underneath my foot with every step, providing a steady rhythm in sharp contrast to the soft melodic bells. After a short while a path appeared. Not a sidewalk or a beaten track, but a path of streetlamps that stretched out into the black night. _

_I followed the lamps, the frosty grass crunching, the bells tolling, my breath coming out as small puffs of steam. Then in the distance, a small graceful shape ran towards me, a blur across the dark field. In a blink of an eye she jumped into my arms. Alice, the real one, had found me in this dream too. _

_I held her close to me. Taking in every detail. The soft stone of her skin, the cold of her body. Her scent. The smell of her breath. And the sweet sound of her laugh._

When I woke, it was still pitch dark outside, and there was still a beautiful woman in my arms. It was hard to think of Alice as a vampire. After all a vampire is nothing but a bloodsucking demon that hunts, preys, feeds on humans, not someone who turns against her primal urges and lives in harmony with the things that it should hunt. Most mortal people don't turn away from their basic desires, they hide them.

"Bad dream?" She whispered in a voice so soft, so quiet that it would not have woken me up.

"No, no, quite the opposite." I smiled to myself and kissed her on the back of her head again. "You were there." I whispered softly into her ear. She laughed her sweet melodic laugh. What the hell was I saying?

Every rational, logical fiber of my being told me that I had to kick her out, get rid of her, or at least stop telling her absolutely everything. But I didn't, I'm a moron.

"There's one thing I still don't understand. For the past couple of hours I've been concentrating on seeing the future, yours actually. It's nothing but a wash of images." She said in a breathy whisper wrapping herself tighter in my arms.

"I haven't made a single decision that extends past tomorrow. I don't know if I should stay around here, how to find what happened, and then of course there's you." I couldn't help but shed a tear when I mentioned her. What the hell are you doing Aaron; stop it right freakin' now! "I have no idea about anything. I was so sure about so many things. Things were black and white with a healthy patch of grey in the middle, but there was always right and wrong, good and evil. Now there's nothing but grey area. I was so sure that you and your family would be evil. I had no idea that you've all fought your basic instincts, and won. I had no idea that there were vampires with souls. I can't breathe anymore. I'm drowning and I don't have a way out."

The verbal diarrhea continued in this same course for at least another ten minutes; I found myself completely unable to stop talking.

When I finally finished my idiotic rant Alice softly spoke, "I'm not sure I understand, but I do know what it's like to have your world turned upside down." She still faced away from me, "Every rational thought tells me I should hate you. You killed the one I loved, more than anything, and yet I'm here lying in your arms…" She stopped in mid sentence.

"Alice, what's wrong?" She tensed up in my arms. "Alice!" I whispered fiercely, "What are you seeing, tell me." I shook her gently. I've only met one other seer in my short existence and everything sign told me that she was having a vision.

Before I could take another breath she spun around and faced me, wrapping her arms around me, burying her face in my chest. I held her closer to me. "Please tell me. If it's bad let me know. Let me fix it." She pulled into me harder, and shook her head violently.

"No," she was crying now. "I saw you," she stammered, "you had a gun… it was against your head… you pulled the trigger." Her voice was muffled from being pressed against my chest. None of this made sense; I have absolutely no reason to kill myself. Besides my gun is with my 'kitchen stuff and sharp things' box over a hundred miles away.

"Slow down. Nothing is written in stone yet. The more you know the easier it is to change." I rubbed her back in small circles. I held her close, trying to calm her. "What else did you see, what was I wearing?"

I could barely understand her through her sobs. "The grey cloak you wore today." Her tears were cold against my skin.

I understood, "the only reason I would do what you saw is if the White Council calls my bluff." I tried to sound as comforting as possible. "I swore that if they ever tried to make me execute a kid who screwed up, I would kill myself. Now that I know it'll happen I can make arrangements to prevent it right."

"No, this one will come true."

"If it does, well than at least I can be happy 'til then." I said holding her close to me. I finally gave up fighting to what was happening, I felt happy again. I shouldn't be ashamed of that. I tilted her head up to look her square in the eye. "I made one promise to you today, and now I'll make another. I promise you I will not die, not soon at least. Maybe in a couple hundred years, of old age." The tears were still welled up in her golden eyes. I brushed them delicately off her hard icy, and for some odd reason comforting skin.

A/N: Chapter eleven is now one for the history books. I may post another chapter before the weekend is out; they start to get more interesting and fast paced. Some of these middle chapters tend waffle a bit because I was still trying to sort out my main plot line. I now feel compelled to make the same plug all authors make: please review, even a little bit, it makes me feel very goodly.


	12. Chapter 12

**Note:**_**A large thanks to my faithful readers for sticking with the absolute worst part of the story. I promise, promise; PROMISE all of you that the pace will pick up. As I said last chapter I didn't really know where the main plot was going. So to lessen the impact of this dreadful problem I'm combining chapters 12 and 13 so we all can get on with the better parts of the story. **_

Chapter 12

I woke earlier than I usually do. Of course I haven't slept well in a few months. Alice had broken her word; she left without waking me. At least she left me a note.

Aaron,

I'm sorry for not waking you before I left. I wasn't sure there would be enough time for me to leave. I just wanted to let you know that you weren't dreaming. I hope you can keep your promises, both of them, I don't think I can lose two people I care about so soon.

---- Alice

P.S. I can't wait to actually hear your accent, and your transfer papers are fantastic.

I traced her beautiful writing gently with my fingers, smiling. "It's about time something goes right." I stated to the still room around me. Of course the light shining in the room was a hazy shade of grey.

I went about clearing up the room. I folded the sheets and stacked them on top of my suitcase, exactly how I had done it yesterday, and the way I'll probably do it tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that. I tucked my blasting rod into my messenger bag, along with a notepad, and a couple of pens. And of course my perfectly forged transfer papers. Since I have to go to school I may as well think about what lies before me.

How much time do I have before Charlie wakes up? Long enough to call Harry? No point in risking it, I can do it later. If Alice is right, I'm going to have enough time to go get my gun before I go to the 'trial.' Maybe I shouldn't start with Harry, maybe I should ask Luccio straight. She was willing to work around Harry, why not his protégé. That makes perfect sense to me. The first chance I got I would call Luccio. That should work.

I dressed quietly and quickly, wearing the same clothes I put on after my shower last night. No need to dirty new clothes up when the old one's passed the reliable sniff test. Everything was ready. Everything was hidden, secured in my bags. No sword, no staff today, if I needed protection I had my shield bracelet on and my blasting rod is within easy reach.

This took less, way less, than ten minutes. I figured that I should satiate that beast of a stomach. I made the mistake of letting it get its hands on real food last night, now it was demanding more.

I went into the kitchen and rooted around in the fridge and the cupboards, looking for anything that fit into the food category. I found two items that always work. Eggs and bread. I'm an American. That boils down to just one thing: being able to eat anything as long as it's surrounded by two pieces of bread. I rummaged through the other cupboards until I found two pans, one for the eggs, and one for the bread. I didn't trust myself to _not_ destroy the toaster.

I turned on the gas range past the electric starter to low and muttered "Flicus" the same spell I use to light candles. The two little burners caught fire immediately. Soon I was off committing breakfast. I can remember one time I actually burned an egg… a boiled egg, I'm still not sure how.

I managed to cook and eat before I heard any signs of life. So I started to make a second batch. I have more honor than to cook in somebody's kitchen for just myself. I made two other scrambled egg sandwiches and wrapped them in foil. I cleaned up the kitchen and sat down at the table.

Charlie came down first, took a sandwich and left. He was not one for talking, that's fine by me, the less I say the less of a chance I screw things up. Bella followed soon after, she grabbed the other and headed for the front door, completely oblivious to my presence. I followed no sense in being late for my first day. I knew I wouldn't find anything useful there, but I now had to keep up appearances. I grabbed my black bag and a coat and followed suit. She realized that I was still here when she tried to shut the door on me.

"Sorry I forgot you were here." She said absently.

"That happens a lot." I said dropping my accent. The rain was freezing, this morning. I walked two steps behind Bella all the way to her truck. If she wasn't going to speak, I figured silence was golden. The roar of the engine was deafening this morning, I could feel my ears starting to bleed as she put it in gear, and drove towards school.

How can I describe Forks High School without using the words: shit and/or hole? I don't think I can. I don't mean to imply that I went to the nicest of high schools, but it was only a crap hole. This place was nothing more than a cookie cutter high school set against an ungodly green background.

Can I fake my death yet, or go back to England? Anything not to repeat high school. When I thought that I could get some information here there was a real point. Now that I know everything that I need to know here, what's the point of coming? I have a high school diploma, a real one, not a GED.

But it's too late. Let's get this over with. She pulled into the parking lot and I was quick to jump out. I concentrated on blending in; using the same very crude veil I used Saturday, at the diner. It worked alright, I got a few looks, but no one said a word.

I found the admin office without much trouble. Word of advice: if you're ever at a school and want to find the office, look for the flagpole. I made my way to the front desk; no one else was in the office aside from the few workers.

"Excuse me miss," I said to the front receptionist, "I believe I'm supposed to start here today." I said in accent. She looked confused. "Apparently there was a problem at the exchange agency." I said pulling all of my forged papers out of my bag-o-tricks. "None of my papers were sent here," I handed her the papers.

She looked them over, "One moment." She walked away from the desk and into a small office in the back. I leaned against the counter, waiting.

After five minutes or so the secretary came back, "Everything looks like it's in order. Here is your schedule and a map of the school. You can pick up your books in the library." She said very nonchalantly. I took them, nodded, and left.

The rest of the morning passed in a big blur, I could only hope that everything in this waking nightmare would pass so quickly. Then lunch rolled around, so far I managed to avoid everyone I knew here (Bella and the Cullen clan.) I for one was grateful; I knew my luck wouldn't run hold. I walked into the cafeteria, putting up the most basic of mind blocks up, repeating the alphabet again and again.

I found a quiet table in the corner and started reviewing my notes. No, not the school notes I didn't bother to take, the ones I took last night. I tried to look at them with fresh eyes, if human medical terminology is confusing try it when it's in two or three dead languages. None of it made any sense; I'm not a doctor, just a wizard. I could probably make the cure's, given the money, and the time. These were definitely the most complicated potions I had ever seen; some of them could bankrupt medium sized countries.

"Anyone sitting here?" A familiar voice asked. Alice had shown up at the right time to find me sitting here with no answers. I glanced back to see Slabs and Little Miss Bitch sitting together at the opposite end of the building. He was smiling; she was shooting daggers out of her eyes.

I didn't say anything. I just shook my head and gestured to the seats across from me. I hopped that she was going to play along?

"You're Aaron right? The new exchange student." She was fishing for me to say something; she wanted to hear my accent.

I wasn't about to give it up that easy. "mmm-hmm" I hummed, nodding. My eyes stayed glued to what I was reading.

Still in her all too cheery voice, "I'm Alice, Alice Cullen." She said extending her hand. I looked up at her, smiled, and then took her hand. That was a mistake; I looked into her liquid gold eyes, now I felt obligated.

"I'm Aaron Brown." I said in accent. "Are you happy now?" I added in a voice so quiet I barely heard it, but I'm positive she heard it loud and clear.

She sat down flashing a beautifully alluring smile. She nodded slightly to answer my question. She started mashing her food around. I didn't see why she bothered to pretend to eat, there were plenty of mortal people who didn't feel the need to eat the slop the school provided. Still she looked graceful doing it.

We made inane small talk for a while, she was much better at keeping up appearances than I was, but of course she has much more practice. I told her about my fake school, my fake friends. She told me about her boyfriend running away to find his abusive father or some other nonsense that made for good schoolyard gossip. After three days, or maybe a few minutes, of her trying to poke holes in my cover for her own sick pleasure; I had enough. "Hey," I said in the same quiet voice, "I need a ride to Aberdeen to pick some stuff out of storage. I figured if you're there, there's a chance that my gun just might go missing."

She covered her mouth so no one could noticed she was talking, "What kind of stuff?" Her voice was just loud enough for me to understand it without straining myself.

"Books, potion stuff. Things I need, but couldn't risk bringing here earlier." I said.

"We could be down and back in like two hours." Then the bell tolled, signaling the decent back into hell.

I was grateful that the last few hours passed just as quickly as the few before lunch. I still didn't see anyone I knew. I also kept my distance from everyone else, the fewer people that can be in a position to know what I am the better. Not that many people are actually looking for things they know don't exist, magic being the big one.

If every day goes this fast I think I can make it through my sentence here with little trouble. Hell, I might even be able to get some work done.

* * *

Walking out to the parking lot to meet Alice, I had this odd sense of déjà vu, I knew where all of the little ice patches were without looking for them. A step to the right, here, one long step there, three steps to the left on occasion. Just before I got to the parking lot, I felt the need to stop, dead. I felt a pulling sensation on the back of my head, it was alien. It felt like someone was trying to pull my mind away; someone trying to get in my head maybe? Whatever it was, it would definitely be breaking the third law of magic. I need to find whoever was doing that and stop them.

I spun around to find that no one was behind me, not near me at least. About two hundred feet behind me were two girls, and two guys, being completely unremarkable. I closed my eyes and the pulling sensation didn't come back. Wonderful one more little question that I probably need to answer. If it was someone here trying to get in my head. I would need to stop them before they got themselves killed. Just one more faceless 'warlock' that broke a law that he/she didn't know they existed, and got killed for it.

One problem at a time. One problem at a time.

I continued the strange walk to the parking lot where there was a car that can only be described as awesome. I don't know cars, but suffice it to say that if it took us more than forty-five minutes to get to my storage unit, I'd eat my cloak, shoes, and sword. There was just one little problem, I would absolutely, without a doubt destroy that car.

"Like my ride?" She said appearing out of nowhere with a shit-eating grin.

"Ya, I like it so much I think I shouldn't ride in it." I said with the same timbre.

"What do you mean?"

"Here's an analogy. Sun is to vampires; as wizards are to technology." She looked at me skeptically. "Well black court vampires at least." Her look didn't change, "vampires like Dracula." She looked like she was beginning to get it

"I still don't get it."

"Wizards have a tendency to screw up technology. The more modern it is the easier it is to destroy. Like your windows, your locks, your radio, your electrical system." A look of understanding crept onto her brow.

"You didn't destroy anything yesterday." She said trying to find a lie.

"First off, the threshold around your house stripped a lot of my power, and second I threw out a lot of power beforehand." I explained.

"Prove it!" She said in mock defiance.

"Okay, pull out your cell phone, there's a good chance it will be ruined anyway." She complied. "I'm going for flashy, hold it like a card." She did, I pulled my coat aside like an old west gun slinger. I shoved my right hand in my pocket and made a gun shape.

"Hurry up!" She chided. I didn't let it hurry me down one bit. I whistled the theme from _The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly _before drawing my 'gun' and focusing the spell of my tip of my finger and unleashing it like an invisible bullet.

The spell landed and instantly little sparks and a tiny waft of smoke escaped from the top. Her jaw dropped. "Told ya. Still want me to get in?" I joked as I walked up to the passenger side door.

"Would it help if I don't invite you in?"

"Nope, thresholds are only around houses, not cars. So is there a special way to open the door?" I said as I looked around the door.

Now concern was creeping into her angelic face. "Why don't you throw some magic around before you get in?"

"Okay, I'll run south for ten minutes throw some out power out. I'm sure you'll know where I'll be before I get there." I said taking off.

Ten minutes of hard running later and I found a nice secluded little patch of trees just off the road. I repeated the same routine from yesterday. This time I tried to hold the magic in a little longer, before releasing the energy into the ground. A little dust was kicked up, and the earth rumbled slightly. I repeated this a dozen or so times until I was too tired to do it again. It wasn't really a physical exhaustion, but I felt tired on the inside. I pulled my blasting rod from my bag and focused on an exposed rock. I concentrated as best I could and muttered, "Levitas."

Where a million volt lightning bolt should have erupted it was more like something cast off a novelty Tesla Coil. As if on cue the yellow Porsche pulled off the road less than twenty feet from where I was standing. I stashed my rod back into my bag and walked toward the idling car. The door locks clicked open, and I slid into the front.

"See I knew you would be able to find me." I said buckling my seat belt.

"Yep. And no destroying my ride." She said icily.

"No problem." I said noticing her eyes had shifted from warm liquid gold to cold jet black. "What's wrong with your eyes?"

"Werewolves." The simple one word response made my blood run cold. Wonderful, lycan (the umbrella term) and vampires have been mortal enemies from as far back as anyone can remember.

"Regular werewolves or one of the other three types of lycan." As a rule most people don't realize that there are actually four types.

"Regular I think. They're Quileute Indians." She said in the same icy tone.

"Wonderful." I muttered. Vampires and lycan have been enemies for as long as time. "Are you okay?" I said taking her hand. She took several labored and ragged breaths.

"I'm fine." She said after a long pause. Her eyes returned to golden hazel, but they weren't as warm as they were yesterday. "Let's go!" She said returning to the pseudo happiness.

"Hit it!" I replied.

She complied. It wasn't long before the speedometer was reading better than 150. I guess I won't be eating my garments after all. She looked as comfortable going this fast as a normal person would at idling through a parking lot. Every once in a while she would slow to a more reasonable speed and then a cop would appear. Man I love seers!

She pulled into the parking lot of U-Store in less time than I thought possible. I fished the key out of my bag and opened the door to my unit.

The unit wasn't crowded per say but it sure as hell wasn't organized. I hadn't planned on putting anything in storage, so I just kind of threw things anywhere there was space.

"A deals a deal. You find my gun you get to keep it!" I chided.

"Not fair. You said if I gave you a ride here I get your gun!" She pouted.

"No, I said if you got me here my gun may go missing." I corrected "It won't take you that long, I don't have that many boxes." I dropped the conversation.

I headed over to the back right corner where I hid my magic type items. Four boxes worth of potion making crap, three boxes full of random semi precious gems and metals. I did manage to find a nice chunk sterling silver. It was something that I started enchanting to give me some extra speed when needed. It's in the shape of something that slightly resembles a cheetah, or maybe a log with eyes and legs. I gave up on it a while ago because it took up too much of my time. I have slightly more time to devote to it now.

I grabbed this and some simple silver and gold wire. I would need these if I ever needed to set up a more complex spell circle, or make some simple talismans. A must if I ever got around to putting wards up. A good idea for sure, but seriously impractical at the moment.

I was much more successful on the book front. I found the two potion books I needed, one was all about the curative type of potion I would need if it was some sort of metaphysical illness. The other was more general, but it had a few ideas for 'recipes' that I've used in the past to make fighting vampires a little bit easier. I don't want to use them, but it would be stupid to think that I wouldn't need them.

While I was here sitting in the corner methodically going through my books; Alice hit my unit like a tornado hits a trailer park. Every box that I had stacked were on the floor the contents dumped out. I figured she would have found it by now. It was in a box that looked like a small briefcase. I made a mental note to tally up all the damage she caused, multiply it by at least a hundred, and send her the bill.

I was still looking through some books when she finally found it. "Found it!" She exclaimed. Of course it was hidden in plain sight; I'll let you guess where. "Funny," she started, "this isn't sharp. I know I don't eat, but it doesn't look like something you use in the kitchen."

"What's your point?" I chided.

"Why's it in here?" She sounded thoroughly confused.

"Umm, because that's where I put it." I replied. My male logic somehow escaped her. It escapes me at times and I live with it.

She opened the case and pulled it out. "Are you compensating for something?" She joked waving the gun around.

I stifled a laugh before I could answer. A girl who is five two tops holding a fifty caliber desert eagle is funny. "No," I started defensively, "Harry had a forty-four. I was honor bound by guy code to get one bigger."

She laughed her sweet, melodic laugh. "Who's Harry?"

"We talked most of last night and I didn't mention Harry once?" I asked half joking.

"Nope! I think you mentioned him yesterday during your story." she smiled at me still holding my cannon. I was getting a bit nervous, I know I left it unloaded and took the magazine out, but a nagging thought of my brain being splattered on the walls crept in.

"Well let's see Harry was my mentor, my teacher, my friend." I said with a half smile.

"Was?" a hint of worry entered her voice.

"When I killed Katherine, Harry had gone after Mab, when he came back he didn't seem like himself." I shuddered, "I thought he'd taken her up on her offer. I tried to kill him before I got the sense knocked into me and ran halfway across the country." I finished. Tears were forming at the thought of my biggest mistake. My vision was blurred, but my hearing wasn't.

Alice had set the gun down, and walked toward me, her heels clicking quietly. She pulled me into an embrace. Her stone arms snaked around my waist. "I'm sorry, again." Her voice was barely above a whisper.

"You didn't do it, please Alice don't be." I said trying to calm her down. "What's done is done." A single tear rolled down my check and made its way to her forehead. She pulled into me tighter. I did the same. No pain could stop me from feeling a few rays of happiness she offered. After a while I calmed down, the tears disappeared, the pain all but vanished.

"Okay, new rule;" she said breaking the silence, "absolutely no talking about the past!" That was something I wouldn't argue with.

"Done!" I agreed, "So what was your life like while you were human?" I asked jokingly breaking the new rule.

"Oh, that's so not fair!" she exclaimed hitting me 'gently' in the ribs. Of course gently is a relative term. She sulked off to the corner where she set the gun down. "Well since I have what I came for." She said placing the cannon back in its' case, "I think I'm just going to go." She started walking out, "you can get yourself back, right?"

"Now that's just mean." I chided, picking the things that I found, "It's a good thing that I'm finished then." I said following her out. I shut the unit and locked it just in time to see her speed away. The Porsche was through the gate before it had a chance to open all the way.

"Wonder-fucking-ful." I mumbled to myself. Did I hit a nerve with the joke? She didn't seem upset or put off by it. Or was I being an idiot and misreading the signs. Then the complete realization hit, I have no way to get back. I walked out of U-Store, looking around for a pay phone. Wizards are probably the only people who still use them. I'm completely serious, last time I was in San Francisco I saw not one, not two, but three hobos with cell phones.

After a while of searching I found one that wasn't missing the receiver, didn't have the cord ripped out, and didn't smell like stale urine and vomit. So I was wrong about the hobo remark. Sue me

If I hadn't finished that thought when I did, I wouldn't have seen the car bearing down on me. If I hadn't seen the car I would have ended up a big splat on the windshield, and lubricant for the engine. "Need a ride stranger?"

"God damn it. Alice, what the hell was that for?" I demanded.

"Dunno, felt like playing a joke. You started it." She said playfully.

"Oh, a joke. I'll remember that leaving someone stranded for half an hour is funny to vampires." I spat.

"It was less than five minutes relax." Damn it, I didn't faze her at all. She probably knew how this would end.

"You do know your eventually get in the car right?"

"Ok," I sighed, opening the car door. I slid in and buckled up, safety first and all (especially when there's a vampire who doesn't drive slower than one-fifty.)

"Hungry?" She asked.

"You tell me, you're the seer." I chided.

"I foresee," she started, placing two fingers on her temple and slipping into a fake gypsy accent, "Chinese food." Just the thought of real food made my stomach rumble.

"Lead on Macduff." I said. She put the car in gear and took off at a reasonable speed ten miles over the limit.

Fluff, that's what we're left with. The one thing we had in common is now off limits. The literal woman of my dreams and I can't talk about anything real. "Can we forget about the rule?" I said, breaking the silence.

"Why?"

"Because. Because pain is necessary. Because it shouldn't be ignored. Because, I finally found someone I could talk to about the pain. Even though it hurts, I feel happy that I finally, finally have someone I can share it with. Maybe you don't feel the same, and that's ok." My voice was strained, but I managed to keep the tears away. Somewhere in this exchange we pulled into a parking lot in front of the restaurant.

She didn't say a word; she cut the engine and got out. Oh good god, why do I keep doing this? I fought all the instincts I had about letting her run away, and tried to go after her.

**Note:**_**So that was the new mega-chapter. Yes, the giant line was the break up of the two chapters. I know it was predominantly fluff and filler, but it needed to be there. I was tempted to throw chapter fourteen in here as well but I thought that it was better if I didn't (that chapter would have added another 3k words) it would have just been too long. The next chapter will be better; it deals with the dearly departed Jasper and introduces one of the most hated vampires of the series. Also from here on in the chapters get longer and more detailed.**_

_**Again, be kind and review, or drop me a PM if you're worried about people reading it. **_

_**Until next time, have fun and thanks for reading.**_

– _**Enjorous**_


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **_First off I'd like to say that I think I'm getting good at these little note things (Not that that says a whole lot about me.) I'd just like to tell my Constant Readers that I'd recently suffered from a major amount of writers block lately; and well it finally lifted today so I'm feeling very generous so I thought I would share it with all of you by posting another chapter! This is the point where I finally nailed out an outline for the plot, so here's where it gets better._

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Chapter 13

I got out of the car as fast as I could, but it was pointless. She was gone. There wasn't even a blur. I crawled back into the car and sat there. Sooner or later she would have to come back, or at least send someone back for it. There was nothing left for me to do. I leaned my seat back and decided to take a nap.

I was just dozing off when there was furious knock on the window. I shot up and readied myself for a fight. Alice was standing there smiling. Good god she did it again. Maybe leaving someone seemingly stranded is funny, but I just don't get the joke.

"Are you coming in or what?" She asked poking her head in.

"I thought you left." I replied.

"Why would you think that?" She said overly cheery.

"Because I said something heavy and emotional that was against the rules we just set up and then you seemed upset and left. Other than that I have no idea why I would think that."

"Oh, hmm I thought if we discussed it then one of us would get upset. That can wait 'til you eat and I feed." She said flashing her smile. I noticed that the dark circles under her eyes had become more pronounced, and that her eyes were much darker.

"Ok, sounds good." I said climbing out of her car. I started walking towards the restaurant; the smell hit me like a mac truck. This was the first time in almost a week that I would be able to put a real meal in me. Alice caught up and fell right into step, not that it took any effort on her part. "I thought you were going to feed?"

"Are you kidding," she said laughing, "it's the middle of the day."

"Ah," I said, "how silly of me." I said opening the door "After you, love." I said going back into English. Having to use this accent until June is going to kill me.

"Thank you," she said entering. Alice worked her magic on the host and got us the worst table in the place. Of course worst normally means the far back in a corner with a good view of the exits. That means to a paranoid person like me it's the perfect table.

The waitress came by and took our, mainly my, drink order; she was out of there as quickly as she could. It was something I was used to by now, most normal people get a bad feeling when there around a vampire, and most perceptive people feel the same way around a wizard. Put the two together and most people want to run away as fast as they can without looking back. Case in point our waitress.

She hurried back with the tea; hey I am trying to be British. I managed to rush out an order before she had a chance to leave. She breathed a sigh of relief knowing that she would only have to be back one more time, twice if she doesn't leave the check when she brings my food. "I know this goes against our agreement, but I have one question." I said in a low voice.

She gave me a look that I couldn't really identify, but eventually gave the smallest nod.

"Why are you so comfortable around me? By all rights I should be the enemy. Whether Jasper was acting differently or not, doesn't make a difference." I asked not knowing where this would lead.

She gave a small closed mouth smile, before saying. "This may sound weird, but he told me that you weren't bad, not to be upset with you. That what happened was unavoidable."

"You mean like a dream," I said regretting the word choice. Damn it, how can she dream if she doesn't sleep? Stupid slip of the tongue!

"No, more like a voice in my head." She said as if she was looking for the voice.

"A memory than, like you know what he should be saying." I suggested. I've never heard of anything like this.

"No, no, it's clearer than a memory, like he's talking to me." Then it clicked.

"A shadow," she gave me a funny look, "when you're 'talking' to him, if you close your eyes do you see him? Or have there been other times you can actually see him, see him like he's right next to you?" She gasped sharply before nodding. "Normally a shadow is a bad thing, something that comes from something cursed. It tries to wear someone down and convince them to use the cursed thing. But this, this is an imprint of someone you love, your soul mate. I've never heard of this before." What I didn't tell her is that the only 'cursed things' that cause this phenomenon that I've heard causing this thing are thirty silver coins that contain spirits of fallen angels.

"What's all that mean, that he's a shadow?" She asked obviously confused.

"I'm not entirely sure, but it means that he could stay with you, in your mind, for the rest of your life." We were interrupted by our waitress bringing my dinner. I inhaled the ambrosial smell. The scents of Mongolian Beef and fried rice mingled delicately in the air before wandering gently to my awaiting nostrils. Alice scrunched up her nose at it. Vampires, what do they know about fine dining. The waitress, who managed to never introduced herself, left the check at the same time. See one more trip.

The realization set in. "Will this 'shade' thing disappear?" She asked wide eyed.

"I don't know. It may, with time, or it could just be there to guide you. I'd have to ask around."

"Why did you ask?"

"Well," I began with a mouthful of food, "If you haven't noticed I'm paranoid." I said after swallowing. "I was worried that you were using what you saw of me to get close enough to…" I slid my thumb across my throat. "And seeing how I'm tied, without my sword, I'd say I make a pretty easy target."

"I thought about it, until Edward helped me upstairs. That's when Jasper's 'shadow' started talking to me. He told me that everything would be alright, when you came in, he said 'we' should listen."

"Okay, that answers my question." I don't really remember eating. I guess that really shows how hungry I was. I cringed as I reached for the bill. Wardens haven't seen a decent raise in at least forty years, and I managed to waste most of my savings on forged books in California. Today's afterschool lesson: always by near ancient books from reputable dealers.

"I got this." Alice said as she snatched the bill away from me at the last second, "something tells me that you don't make that much."

"Umm, thanks," I replied. With dinner done and paid for, the two of us headed back out to the car.

The sun was just beginning to set behind the seemingly constant cloud cover. Let's think, the distance from Aberdeen to Forks is just over 100 miles. The way Alice drives we would probably make it back before dark.

The drive back was slightly less interesting than the drive down here. At least then there was something to look at aside from darkening treeline. My second full day in this hell hole was coming quickly to an end. There was just one problem; I had two new boxes full of shit and no place to put them.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked turning to face me.

"I was thinking I needed a place to set up, magically speaking."

"I think I know just the place. How about an abandoned lighthouse?"

"If it's private, it works." I answered. Setting up wards would be much easier if it was someplace I could control access to.

"I like to go there to think."

"I have a problem seeing you in an old lighthouse. You seem like someone who would much rather be outside, someplace beautiful." I said shrugging. Sleep was starting to overtake me, which was rather pathetic, it's not even six. "A meadow maybe." I said yawning.

"What's the matter sleepy head?" She asked.

"The magic really drained me." I responded through a thick haze of pre-sleep. I'm not entirely sure it made sense, but I didn't have the strength to correct myself before I dozed off.

I couldn't have been asleep very long when a small cold hand gently shook my shoulder, "Where here. C'mon!" I opened my eyes and strained them against the inky black.

"Where's here?" I groaned. Nothing looked familiar, not that I could see much aside from the soft green glow cast by the clock.

"The lighthouse." She said like I should know.

"Why now, I want to sleep." I moaned as she opened her door letting in a freezing cold blast of wind that instantly turned any thoughts of sleep into survival instincts to get away from the cold. "Alright let's take a look around so I can sleep!" I grumbled opening my own door.

"Aren't you going to take your stuff?" She asked.

"Not tonight, I'm not leaving it in an abandoned lighthouse until I get some wards up." I growled, I'm never in a good mood when I'm not allowed to sleep when I want to.

"C'mon grumpy," she said pulling my arm. She parked far enough that I had to walk more than I wanted to.

"First I'm sleepy, now I'm grumpy; let me sleep 'til I become doc." Oh I'm so witty at times it hurts. See how I made the connection to the seven dwarves. Damn it my humor is so lost on people.

My notable resistance to the idea was noted and fundamentally dismissed. I tried to struggle but she was by far stronger. "Let's move it doc. See your doc now, happy?" I gave up fighting and just went along before she broke my arm.

"The faster I look around the faster I can go to sleep right?" She looked at me stone faced, "Right?" I pressed. The expression on her face didn't change, "if you're going to kill me do it now, so I can get some rest!" I walked towards the lighthouse. I had already started planning what I would do with this place.

Alice hadn't moved an inch, but a wry smile crept onto her lips. Ha who is she fooling, her eyes hadn't glazed over. Any apprentice would know that she wasn't having a vision she was just pretending. "Give it up, Pixie!" Yes I finally found a good condescending nickname for her. "I'm not buying it." I said getting to the door, or rather what was left of the rotting door. It should still work. The first thing I would be doing was a simple web around the school. Just to see if what I felt was someone who was just coming into their powers.

If they were I wanted to get to him slash her quickly before he slash she actually succeeded in poking into someone's brain, getting himself slash herself killed in the process. God that would probably mean working really, really late. So much for sleep.

"We need to go now!" Alice said with a kind of urgency I hadn't heard from her before.

I spun around on my heels running to the car before I had even finished turning. "What is it?" I questioned without bothering to stop. She didn't stop to answer; instead going straight for the car. She was in, and the car on before I had taken another step. I doubled the pace using whatever energy I had left. It seemed like an hour before I reached the car, in reality in was probably only a few seconds.

I opened the door and was only halfway in when the car pealed out in reverse, and did a complete one-eighty throwing me against her and slamming the door on my ankle. I screamed as we sped off into the darkness. Another three hours went by before I managed to get my seatbelt on. "Explanation time!" I demanded.

"Bella." Was the only word I got. It was enough. In the now two and half days I'd been in town I'd seen enough to know that she gets in way over her head with no real way out. I get in over my head…a lot… but my magic acts as a life raft. I knew there was danger, and I knew that in my near exhausted condition I was slightly less than a liability. I'd used all the magic I could use today, before we even left Forks. Now the only thing I could do was get to my warden's sword in time.

"What's after her?" I asked as I was checking what equipment I had on me. Blasting rod? Check. Shield bracelet? Check. Enough magic to make them useful. Highly doubtful. When we got back I would need to get my sword as fast as I could. But I was screwed until I could get to it.

"Victoria." She said facing me. Her eyes were jet black now. I could only assume Victoria was a vampire. I turned my focus to the back seat and began rummaging through the back seat looking for the familiar black box.

"How much time do we have?" I asked still not finding what I was looking for. Of course I had no way of knowing just how much damage a fifty caliber steel core round would do to a Rose Courter. But it would give me something to fight with until I got to my sword.

"Minutes." She growled.

"What about Edward?"

"Hunting." She answered as I finally found my little black box.

"I'm borrowing this," I said pulling my cannon out of its resting place, "You can have it back afterwards." I finished by slapping the magazine in with unnecessary drama. "What's the plan?" What's the point of planning something when you're around someone who can see the future?

"You go in the house, tell Bella to call Carlisle. I'm going to keep watch outside. When we get there we'll have four minutes and thirty-two seconds." I clicked the safety on, and tucked the pistol in my coat pocket.

"What about Charlie?"

"He won't be there. He must be on the reservation, I can't see him." We screeched to a halt across the street from Bella's. "Four minutes twenty-five seconds." She said opening her door and disappearing into the darkness.

I hurried into the house. The door was thankfully open. Less than four minutes a voice in my head chirped. No lights were on downstairs. God Damn it. I rushed upstairs to her room. Empty. Fuck. I rushed into the bathroom, finding her just getting out of the shower. Politeness jumped from the window and ran away with the danger.

"What the fuck are you doing!" she screamed covering herself us with the towel as best she could. Normally I would follow my hormones and ogle her girl parts; right now there wasn't enough time.

"Victoria, three minutes! Call Carlisle now!" I shouted myself before leaving abruptly. Bella followed my lead, not bothering to exchange the towel for anything more substantial.

I ran down as fast as I could to my sword bag. I quickly strapped on my sword belt, and pulled on my grey cloak. Grabbing a small lancet, from the small side pouch I headed into the kitchen; Bella was already on the phone with the good doctor, talking as fast as she absolutely could. I could care less at this point. Back up or not I was going to make sure this ended favorably. It was my duty to protect all mortals from supernatural things that would harm them; at least that's what I told myself. I tore through the cabinets as fast as I could. I needed to make a circle and fast. I thought about using the chalk in my bag as well. I decided that I would need something more than just a thin line of chalk.

Bella hung up the phone. "They'll be here in five min…" I grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her toward the stairs before she had time to finish her sentence.

"We don't have that much time. Follow me!" I sure as hell wasn't going to give her the option of thinking. When we reached the top of the stairs I threw her into her room, turning off her light. "Okay, sit down." She started to sit on her bed. "On the floor!" She actually complied without question.

"Shouldn't we be running?" She stammered, looking at me with pure unadulterated fear.

"No, You're hiding… in plain sight." I said as I started pouring the salt into an irregular circle around her. She was now confused as well as scared, "Give me your finger," I demanded, 'two minutes remaining', the voice said in a computer like manner. When she didn't surrender her finger to me immediately I grabbed her hand. "I need to seal the circle. If it works you'll be completely hidden unless she actually sees you." She gave me a look that screamed fear, "But she won't see you." I pressed the lancet against the side of her ring finger and pressed the tiny white button. The small spring unleashed the needle with a slight twang.

"Ouch." She gasped and tried to bring the finger to her mouth. I kept a firm grasp on her hand.

"Touch your finger to the salt right here." I commanded indicating where I had started the circle. She touched the blood to the salt and there was a soft shimmer of magic as the circle was empowered. This is one of the most basic forms of magic and one that any normal person can do. "Do not, under any circumstances, cross the circle. And do not, I repeat, do not break the circle."

I hoped that the smell of the small drop of blood would be covered by the circle. It should, but I was taking a hell of a chance. I crossed to the widow. There was less than a minute now before she would show up. I don't know why one vampire was making me panic like this. Maybe it was seeing Alice react the way she did, or the fear in Bella's eyes. My heart sank. This wouldn't be an easy fight; not that any fight is really easy.

I wanted to charge outside, sword in hand and tempt her to attack me. She wouldn't know what hit her. I pulled my cannon out and quietly clicked the safety off before sliding it back into my pocket; I didn't think it would do much good, but it was all I had. I grasped the hilt of my sword drawing it halfway out of its scabbard. It went much easier this time. The minimal light in the room danced off the silvery blade, like small diamonds, or in my price range tiny cubic zirconiums. I shut the window and drew the curtains. I wasn't going to give this Victoria any advantage if I could avoid it. She already had surprise mostly on her surprise, but we had a wizard (me) and the hope that

"Bella, you okay?" I asked in a hushed whisper.

"I'm cold." I hadn't noticed before, she left the bathroom in such a hurry that her hair was still soaked and there was water on her skin. I felt bad now that I didn't giver anything warmer than a towel. If it wouldn't have broken the circle's power I would handed her some sweats that were scattered about her room.

"Fifteen minutes at the most." I said as reassuringly as I could. I hoped that it would only be fifteen minutes. Fights like these happen faster than most people would think. It isn't some long drawn out fight. It's short and sweet. If everyone knows what they're doing it's even shorter. Fifteen minutes was a high side estimate, I hoped.

A bell went off in my head, at the same time the sound of thunder rattled through the window.

She was here!

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**Second Note: **_To those Dresdenphiles who are reading; I know that wards have to be anchored to a threshold; I was just kind of lazy. In my world wards only have to be anchored if there are walls, a ceiling, a floor, and a door; or at least that's the way I thought they worked pre __Turn Coat__._

_**As is my new catch phrase please tell me what you think, good or bad.**_


	14. Chapter 14

_**A/N: **_** Sorry for the long wait folks, it's pretty well inexcusable when I have the majority of the story written already. Well you see since my last update my former Beta flaked on me (not that she did a lot before anyway) and my new Beta is finishing up with finals and the school year. But since this is one of my favorite chapters I thought I'd update now in honor of Memorial Day.**

**I'm dedicating this chapter to Departed, my new Beta, and Allysyn, the greatest character I've created thus far; but mainly to Departed.**

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Chapter 14

It would be at least another two minutes before anyone else would show up. Another crack of thunder rattled the window harder in its frame. Alice should be able to handle herself right? Hell she was stronger than I was. Another boom, this one much closer than the last two, threatened to shatter the widow. I was tense. My hands were clenched at my side, my knuckles turning white with the pressure. I should be out there, it thought turning away from the window.

Bella looked at me and her window, fear flooding on to her face. Not only was she in danger, but now so was one of her best friends. I could see the it in her eyes, in her face, in her hands; hell even saw it in toenails. She didn't have to tell me.

"Stay in there!" I shouted running out of the room, "I mean it!" Flying down the stairs and I disappeared into the inky night.

The crashes of thunder were becoming much more frequent and much more intense. I chased after them occasionally stumbling over a root or a fallen log; using only the loud crashes to navigate my way through the dense forest.

The darkness closed in around and suffocated me. I hoped I had enough energy to do one last spell. I held my hand out and focused some will into the ring I always wore. It worked! A soft blue light emanated from the front of the ring casting a wide beam in front of me. It didn't do much but it allowed me to pick the pace up. I knew I was in serious trouble when it took most of my concentration to cast the flickering blue light. Coupled with the sound of thunder were the sounds of two feral growls. Breaking into a full sprint I continued the seemingly endless forest. One of the growls was weakening, one was triumphant; I wasn't going to take the chance.

I broke into the clearing where the two were fighting. At this point it wasn't much of a fight. Alice was barely able to stand, why her visions weren't giving her an edge, I don't know. "Oh this doesn't end well for you!" I shouted at the mess of red hair that was caught in my wizard's light. Victoria I presume.

"Who the fuck are you!" She said in a low guttural growl.

"Tonight I am such stuff as nightmares are made of." I finished with a small chuckle and a grand bow. See I quote Shakespeare, or well bastardize him to prove a point, but I think The Bard would appreciate it. I wasn't so much scared of taking her on by myself. But why not hedge my bets; wait for everyone else to join the party.

"What does that mean?" She spat. Whatever I was doing, it was working. She turned all her attention to me.

"How rude of me," I began as politely as I could. I paused before continuing the inane pre-fight banter, "I should have come right out and said: Hello I'm Aaron Marsdon, tonight I'm going to kill you."

She let out a horrid cackle and began pacing around me, like a shark circling its' prey. "And how are you going to do that?" She asked seductively, licking her lips. I angled myself to the so she could only see the scabbard of the sword as I slowly reached down and grasped the butt of my cannon with my left hand. I was just waiting for the right time.

"I'm going to have to think about this one." I paused until she was in front of me, "Like this!" I shouted pulling the cannon into play. I didn't have any time to aim. I just squeezed the trigger. The roar of the shot was almost as bad as the two vampires crushing. The muzzle flash illuminated the dark clearing enough for me to see that Alice had slumped down against a tree, her eyes glassed over; it's amazing what adrenaline allows you to notice. It looks like I got here just in time. Any later and she could have been dead.

My thoughts were immediately refocused on the red headed vampire. My shot had struck her in the left shoulder knocking her off balance, but not doing any real damage. I let off two more as quick as I could. One harmlessly grazed her right side, the other smashed into her forehead, knocking her on her back. For a brief moment I thought that would be the end of it. Not many things can take a bullet between the eyes and get back up, especially considering that the bullet is of the armor piercing variety.

She did. Now she was pissed. Now I was a bit scared. She shook off the three shots like I threw pebbles at her.

This was not going to end well.

I dropped the cannon to the ground; it landed with a soft metallic thud. I reached for the hilt of my sword, never getting the opportunity to draw it. She charged me fast, way too fast from my hand to react, too fast even for my eyes. I didn't get a chance to blink before I was flying back into the dark. My back slammed into the trunk of a very large, very old tree with a sickening crack. She was to me before I was able to hit the mossy ground.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you." She snarled. Had I bought myself enough time? Maybe. Would this be the time my luck would finally run out? Probably. Was I screwed either way? Definitely.

My eyes were swimming in a sea of red haze. I was vaguely aware that there was something warm and sticky running down the back of my head. I tried reaching for the silver rapier hanging from my hip.

It was useless. Before my hand and even gotten to the hilt, a vice clamped around it. Another clamped down around my throat. Victoria quickly jerked me to my feet and stared at me. She cracked an evil smile, licking her lips. This was the end; I tried to think about the mistakes I had made. If I hadn't destroyed Alice's phone she could have called minutes earlier the other vampires would be here already and would have wiped their asses with this bitch. If I had found them earlier I could have stabbed her in the heart with my sword or set her on fire. And yet I wasn't afraid; I was completely numb

I knew I would run out of time one day, but when I woke up this morning I didn't realize that today would be that day. Turns out I hadn't bought myself enough time after all.

At least I would have solace knowing that Alice was now safe, Bella would stay that way too. No innocent person would ever die by Victoria's hands again. Because I still had one card up my sleeve; I had my death curse. That innate power that was housed in all wizards, that was in essence my life force; once I used it, I would die, but at least I could take her with me.

A peaceful resolve washed over me, death stared me right in the face, and I returned an unflinching gaze. I knew what had to be done; what I had to do. A new power welled up inside of me. A power I would only feel once. I never thought about what came after death. I never really had a reason to. "Killing you wouldn't be fun." She snarled interrupting my meditations on the Afterlife. "I think turning you would be much more enjoyable."

A new emotion surged through me – fear. For the first time tonight I felt fear; pure unadulterated terror. Nothing mortified me more than living without magic. I instantly felt reenergized, normal energy this time, and not the kind that comes from the death curse. I might actually survive. Seriously I might actually survive tonight, and now joy was mixed with fear.

Unfortunately Victoria still had me by the throat; fortunately she had at some point dropped my wrist; even more fortunately I could still move my hand. Life is good.

Only a few problems still had to be worked out of my brilliant plans. If I tried to throw her off of me she would take my head with her, and I would be dead. My feet were still planted on the ground that means that lighting was out, because my ass would also be toast. That only really left one option left. Fire! The warm comforting element; that can either create or destroy; tonight I think destruction is more appropriate than creation. Unless we're talking about creating pain.

I took my right hand and gently cupped her cheek, focusing my eyes on the bridge of her nose (a trick I learned to fake direct eye contact.) I hoped it would work. "You like that idea do you?" She mused. I nodded as best I could; she loosened the grip on my throat just enough. "Now both options don't seem fun. Maybe torture, or maybe…"

I gently removed my hand from her cheek, never giving her time to finish her sentence. I held it about an inch away, before I broke into an evil smile of my own. "Fira!" I shouted, pouring as much magic and will as I could into my spell. Hot yellow fire erupted from my hand straight into her face. The fire was blinding and awesome lighting the forest around me for at least a hundred feet. I'd never been able to make fire that hot without a focus before. I turned my face away as fast as I could. I felt the heat on my face, smelled the day old stubble burning off my face, and heard the sound of sizzling flesh. She dropped me and grabbed her face with both hands. Her face completely scorched; she spun away from me. The smell of burnt flesh and hair drifted in the air. "I told you this wouldn't end well for you." The new found strength surged through me; a strength fueled by fear and anger and joy all rolled into one.

I drew my sword faster than I had ever done it in the past. The blade still sparkled in the black night. The red headed bitch was still screaming, acting like she'd never had face burns before. Her screams acted like a beacon, letting me find her with absolute ease. Knowing exactly what my sword would do to her, I sliced her Achilles tendons and watched her fall to the ground. I did the same to whatever muscles are in the shoulder. She wasn't going to run, she wasn't going to limp; hell I made sure she wasn't even able crawl; Victoria was going to lay there until someone mercifully ended her life. I limped out of the way before forming a circle of my own sealing it with the blood that still trickled from the back of my head.

I slumped to the ground with my head between my hands. My body hurt, my hands hurt, my feet hurt, my head hurt, my neck hurt, I hurt in more places than I knew existed; hell my teeth and hair hurt. I gathered a small bundle of sticks together inside my little circle. I set them on fire and hoped they would burn for at least a little while. The warmth was felt nice on my freezing skin; my hands ached with the cold. The smoke coiled up, never leaving the confines of my circle. The small flame cast light out to about ten feet. Just enough to barely make out Victoria's writhing form, the bright red burns contrasting with the dark red jellied blood running down her arms and legs.

Less than thirty seconds later I heard light footsteps approaching, fast. The cavalry had finally made it! They sure took their damn sweet time. I'm a little impressed that I heard their near silent footsteps over Victoria's pathetic screams.

The first one to step into my little pool of light was Little Miss Perfect herself, followed closely by Slabs. "Hey guys welcome to the party." I mumbled. "I got everyone a present. Sorry I didn't have time to gift wrap it." I said dryly vainly attempting to add some humor as I indicated the former red head.

The two wasted no time in pouncing on the crippled vampire, tearing her limb from limb, in sickening crunching noises. It wasn't long before the screaming stopped, and an eerie quiet to settle in. That, my friends, is how you kill a vampire. The body was nothing but a smattering of granite like flesh. What was left of the body didn't decompose nearly as fast as Jasper's. One more piece of the puzzle I suppose.

My small fire was burning out quickly. It was reduced to a pile of red embers before Carlisle and Esme, carrying Alice came into the area. The blood on the back of my head was still too fresh to break the circle. I took the chance anyway. I kicked the indentation in the dirt breaking the spell. A small flutter of magic released into the air. Everyone's attention focused exclusively on me. Everyone, but Carlisle immediately stopped breathing and faced away, the fresh blood must have been too much.

"How is she?" I asked weakly gesturing towards Alice. I couldn't help but think that this was my fault.

"She needs blood. But she'll be fine by morning. What happened?" He asked in a calmer voice than I could even try for right now.

"She had a vision of Victoria attacking. I made sure Bella was safe. Came out here, Alice wasn't doing well. I stepped in, and well." I said waving my hand around the clearing. "I need to go make sure everything's all right." I said, or well tried to. It might just have come out as "whoo." I guess the bump on my head was slightly more serious than I thought, or the adrenaline had finally worn off, but I fell and fell hard. I should have at least; before I passed out I vaguely remember a pair of cold hands breaking my fall as I plummeted to the ground.

~*~

I woke up sometime later catching Carlisle mid lie. "…like I said I don't know what happened. But near as I can tell." He paused looking in my direction. He must have noticed I was awake. I hadn't even decided to wake up all the way before that. "He must have slipped and cracked his head on a rock; it's just a minor concussion, and a small laceration. When he wakes tell him to take it easy for a day or two."

"Thank you, doctor." I heard Charlie say. He said something else but I wasn't paying any attention anymore. So that's why Carlisle didn't flinch, he could control himself to be around blood. I definitely need to make sure that I talk to him about my disease theory. If I could remember it.

I opened my eyes and blinked them a few times. Someone had laid my grey cloak on top of me like a blanket. My head spun like a helicopter, and I had to fight off an extreme urge to throw up right there. I finally managed to get a decent look around the room. My sword bag was propped up where I normally kept it, not where I tossed it to the floor before running to the kitchen, which was also picked up; I might have been seeing things but it looked like the kitchen floor sparkled. Vampires do work fast. I was wearing what I had been earlier, except for my cloak. You gotta love cloaks, especially long ones; they keep your real clothes from getting dirty.

I absently rubbed my sore throat, thankfully it wasn't bruised. Cracks to the head are a lot easier to explain than hand shaped bruises to the throat. I sat up… slowly; sitting only served intensified the urge to blow chunks. I rubbed my hand over my face and forehead a few times. Side note: I've never understood this, is it supposed to be a miracle cure?

I reached back tenderly touching the cut. I couldn't help but wince as I found it. This shouldn't have knocked me on my ass like this. I've definitely been hurt worse, without ever passing out. Much worse, I moved my hand tracing the long scar just behind my left ear. Maybe I used too much mojo earlier? That would explain why I passed out, not from whatever concussion I may or may not have. Maybe I had used some of my life energy, which would explain even more; like why I had suddenly passed out. I was still vaguely aware that Carlisle and Charlie were talking; I wasn't trying to figure out what exactly they were saying. The worry was coming back to me. Was Alice alright? Bella? I needed to find out; it was my duty after all, or at least my warped sense of duty. And as I always say: sense of duty is my insanity.

I heard a door close in the other room. Could I even come up with an accent if I needed to; damn I'm not sure that I could form a coherent word at the moment. There's some sort of a block between my brain and my mouth.

I thought about lying back down, but decided that that was too rational a move and stood up. That turned out the be the worst move. The world turned upside down on me and I damn near collapsed again. I fought it and managed to stay on my feet. I took a tentative step, then another, and another. Who said walking is hard?

I even managed to make it to the stairs which, admittedly, looked like Mt. Everest. Eventually the voice that started talking all about duty started up again. Even with a concussion it wouldn't shut up. No one was in the front room, or kitchen. Charlie must have been called in to work.

I went up the stairs as slow as I could. Stopping each time I could hear my pulse from inside my head. Anyone who has ever had a good whack on the head knows exactly the sound. About three days and nights of intense hiking and I made it to the summit. My head vigorously pounded with each heart beat.

Of course her door was closed. I knocked three times as controlled as I could manage before waiting. It felt like Christmas morning except instead of getting a puppy you get to find out if Santa killed your sister. Were mine the only Christmases that were fucked up.

She didn't answer, so I knocked again, quieter than before. If she was asleep, I didn't want to wake her. A few more seconds past and the door opened. Sparkles was standing there, fully dressed. He glared at me. I didn't have to read minds to know that he didn't like me. He made that abundantly clear.

"How is she?" I asked in a whisper, as my eyes temporarily blurred.

"Sleeping." He hissed.

"Is she okay?" I asked in a harsh whisper enunciating every syllable.

"She's cold. What were you thinking leaving her in a drafty room, soaking wet and wrapped in a towel?" He growled. Bella murmured something unintelligible in her sleep.

"Thinking went out the damn window, I went with my gut. I know how to keep people safe. It's my job. And let me remind you Victoria's dead and Bella's alive because of what I did. You weren't here, so you don't get to judge." Son of a bitch that was really arrogant. I think I managed to cram both feet in my mouth; shoes and all.

"What you did was risk her life. What if she had rushed past you, or killed you, then what?" His eyes were turning black as he angrily gestured back at Bella's sleeping form.

"I would have died before I let her escape. I almost did. And no don't think I'm trying to steal her. Don't delude yourself." It doesn't take a mind reader to hear and see his jealousy. "Fact is she's mortal, I would have thrown my life away for any mortal I was supposed to protect." I suddenly came to a realization, I may have figured out the real reason he hated me.

"What am I thinking right now?" I said thinking of something very specific.

He paused, twisting his face into a supposed mask of neutrality. I was right, if he could read me, it sure as hell wouldn't take this long. "You'd much rather be sleeping than up here talking to me."

"Not even close. I was wondering why no one had cleaned up the salt from the circle. You can't hear my thoughts can you?" I stared him down, carefully avoiding direct eye contact.

"Yes and no," he started coldly, clenching his jaw, "I can hear them, yes. But they sound like there underwater. They're garbled, muddy." Oh so mister high-and-mighty vampire can't hear mister wizard's thoughts. "If I concentrate, I can make most of them out."

"And that's never happened to you before?" I questioned. "I'm sure you can read everyone else's thoughts."

"Yes, it has happened before. I can't her Bella's at all…"

"And you're worried that there's some innate connection between us. Am I right?" I said cutting him off. He didn't seem to appreciate someone saying what he was thinking for a change. He gave a solemn nod.

"That is not now nor has it ever my intention at all. It was dumb luck that I showed up here. I could have just as easily ended up with anyone else in town." I said with a soft breathy chuckle. "Go back to bed." I said turning towards the stairs with a wry smile.

"You didn't mention your new relationship with my sister." He said sternly as I walked away.

I waved a hand back dismissively, "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that. I don't have to see the future to know where that conversation leads. Besides I'm going to bed I have a concussion after all." I added matter-of-factly.

Fortunately the descent is always easier in the climb.

I made it to the couch and quickly passed into a dreamless sleep. Dreamless, but not worriless. Alice had crept into my mind. I don't think she's going anywhere soon, and that scared me a little.

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_**End Note: **__**I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, up until the bit with Eddie, it was the most fun to write, well until one of the end chapters, but I won't go into detail here. As with all authors everywhere reviews are greatly appreciated. **_


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Well seeing as today is my birthday I thought I would reward my Constant Readers with a double update. Judging from the recent increase in reviews I'm hoping that everyone enjoyed ****Blurred Lines**** thus far. These next few chapters are where this story begins to earn the romance credit. So a little less fightin' and a little more lovin'.**

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Chapter 15

The next morning came way too soon for my liking. Everything that could have stiffened up did. My ankle was now nice and swollen, my head was throbbing, my throat hurt, my wrist was sore. I stretched out on the couch, trying to find a clock. I vaguely remembered the night before. Well everything before being thrown against a tree is crystal clear, after I passed out is a whole other story. This is going to throw off my: find-the-warlock-before-he/she-breaks-a-law plan, that I cleverly codenamed: find-the-warlock-before-he/she-breaks-a-law. I know; it's called a metaphor.

I slowly sat up. Thank god, no throbbing, just a dull ache. The only clock in the room was an old VCR that of course was blinking twelve. Someone should learn how to set one of those things. Of course around me it would be lucky to just be blinking twelve.

Fuck! What happened to my stuff! I passed out before I had a chance to make sure I put it back. I jumped up from the couch, ignoring the pain in my ankle. My head stayed relatively pain free. I went straight for my suitcases. Maybe someone left a note, explaining everything that happened. Strike one. The room was picked up when I woke up last night. The kitchen wasn't torn up the way I left it. The living room was neat and organized. My sword bag was leaning where I normally kept it. Déjà vu. I know I had this thought last night. I should remember it, but the haze of sleep is keeping my memories just out of reach.

I opened the top of the leather bag and peered inside. Sure enough my sword was resting inside alongside my staff. Wrapped around the handle was a small piece of paper secured by a rubber band. The handwriting was perfectly neat, perfectly uniform, way too perfect.

_Your sword is cleaned and oiled. A thank you, for last night. _

_--Sparkles_

Apparently Edward did have a sense of humor, who knew? Or maybe he thought I didn't know his real name? Never mind, clearly not important right now. Well there's one mystery solved. Too bad when one mystery surrounding me gets solved at least three others spring up to take its place. The only other damning evidence I had to worry about was a pistol about the size of Rhode Island. Maybe Alice grabbed it last night. I have the absolute vaguest of memories that I saw her clutching something shiny tightly against her chest. She was adamant about getting her hands on it, and she was just crazy enough to go after it in her condition.

I padded my way into the kitchen finally seeing a real clock. It was past almost ten-thirty. Well at least I got out of school. I went to the window, the cruiser was gone, and the rust bucket was still here. Now doubt Bella had a nasty cold. That tends to happen when someone forces you to sit in a small circle made of salt while you're dripping wet, and just outside your window is a homicidal vampire who wants you dead. But what do I know?

I played a mental game of rock paper scissors to see who I would talk to first. Bella; or Ramirez. Since rock doesn't beat paper, looks like I would have to face Bella first. I limped my way to the stairs. Fortunately my ankle didn't feel sprained or broken, just like a car door slammed on it. I walked up the stairs much better than I did the last night.

Her door was closed yet again. I'm beginning to notice a pattern. I knocked gently. Nothing. Another pattern is quickly forming. I knocked again, this time a little louder. That elicited a moan of frustration.

No! Not that kind of moan. The kind of moan that says two things: first, 'that I'm sick in bed; and two, that getting out of bed is below pulling out my finger nails. I wasn't sure that was an invitation, but I figured it was worth a chance. I quietly opened the door and poked my head in. "Can I come in?" I questioned in a tone that hinted at apology.

She gave another moan, this one a little lighter in tone. I took that as a yes and walked in. I picked up her desk chair, turning it so that it faced her bed. I sat down sighing. "Are you ok?"

She struggled underneath the three extra blankets and the two extra comforters. "Yes." She croaked.

"Good to hear." I said getting up from the chair. I'm beginning to realize that I am a giant luck sink. I steal everyone else's luck. That is if there's such a thing as luck. Whatever it is, it has a habit of keeping me alive, at the cost of others. Bella's sick, Alice nearly died. And I have exactly one scratch on me. I began to leave the room. It's not like I was walking out of a stimulating or enlightening conversation. When I got to the door I turned back. "Let me know if you need anything." I said before closing the door. I opened it quickly saying "Plus you look like hell!" I closed the door quickly not wanting to get hit in the head by anything she threw.

Clearly my sense of humor is lost on sick people.

I limped back down the stairs, by the time I got to the bottom the pain in my ankle nearly vanished. See what I mean, I'm damn near perfect and two other people are paying the price. I dropped that line of thought quick fast. I really needed to check in with Ramirez.

I figured this time I had plenty of time to actually talk without fear of interruption. Thank god that they haven't bothered getting one of those fancy cordless phones. I grabbed a pen and a small notebook and set them on the table. I managed to dial Ramirez's number without destroying the phone. Always a good sign. It rang, twice, again, again, again. On the nineteenth ring I hung up.

He very rarely answers his phone so I wasn't surprised. I punched in the number for the wardens' head quarters. It only rang twice before a gruff voice answered, in a thick Russian accent. I was getting Karma's kick in the balls for the brief period of cooperation talking to Harry. The static and feedback were so terrible I was shouting my password for a good thirty seconds before the other end recognized me. Nope still not going to give my password out. "Name of party." He demanded in the same thick accent. I came out closer too "Na- o –rty."

I skipped straight to shouting, "Regional Commander Ramirez." I shouted three times before he connected me. I guess he put in a separate line for business. I could just imagine; that it was a big red rotary dial phone with a big flashing light on it and underneath it would have a gold plaque that read "White Council." I say this because it only rang once.

"Ramirez here." He sounded completely nonchalant.

"Warden Marsdon reporting in sir." I shouted sounding like a soldier snapping to attention.

"What do you need Aaron." He still sounded bored. This isn't like the Carlos I know. He should be…I'm not sure…but this wasn't right.

"Just checking in boss. The vampires are actually, umm, nice." I said hesitantly, "oh and I've killed two others already."

"That it?" Seriously he should be making a joke, or asking for details. Or telling me I would have to submit an after action report in triplicate, one for myself, one for him, and one for Luccio; or some other idea he got from watching war movies all day.

"Anything I need to know?"

"You might want to talk to Scribe Lafarge. He's up in Seattle, apparently there's a vampire problem. Good bye." He hung up. Strange he was normal a few days ago. I wonder: did he finally get laid?

I hung up the phone and looked at the piece of paper. I unconsciously scribbled down the name 'Lafarge.' I only had heard the name a few times before, and those times were at big council meetings. Apparently he had a perfect eidetic memory for both sight and sound. That means he can remember anything and everything he sees or hears, for those of us that didn't pass Psych 101. If I called him right now I would have another difficult problem to deal with. I sure as hell do not need another one of those right now.

I need to deal with the potential warlock first. The rational side of my brain told me that only the maybe-warlock was less of a threat to people than a vampire problem in Seattle. The irrational side of my brain, which gives most of the orders, told me that seeing on more kid getting executed was far more terrible than a dozen innocent people getting killed or turned by vampires. I know it doesn't make any sense.

Of course all of this was a distraction. If I weren't trying to do something, be productive all I would manage to think of is her. Alice. I'm still not entirely convinced that she wants me dead, but she's had plenty of opportunities so far and I'm still alive. That doesn't really matter, I'm still worried about her; she should have been able to fight her. Alice can see the future; she should be able to see what someone is going to do before they do it. Then block it. Then hit them.

The reason is obvious. Victoria knew that Alice was a seer, she would have thought about what move to use, and then do the opposite. It made perfect sense…

Because it's what I would have done. Because it was the only thing that made sense.

I want, no I need, to know that she's okay. I won't be able to forgive myself if something bad happened to her. on some level I knew that she would be alright, she hadn't been killed. Carlisle knew what he was talking about. He knows more about his own kind than I do. It must be all that chivalry shit Harry stuffed in my head. Not that I'm really complaining.

Logic doesn't help. It's called insanity for a reason. Plain and simple.

I just want to know. It's that simple; not knowing is the worst feeling. I wish that I had someway of talking to her, of seeing her, getting to her. I had to keep my promise, both of them.

I picked the phone up again and started dialing Harry's number. I hung up before I finished. I didn't need his help on this one.

Harry was never great with ritual magic. When it comes to magic I'm good at only two things: evocation and ritual magic. Maybe it's because I am a terrible creature of habit. I ritualize every single thing I do, in the real world I would probably be diagnosed with OCD. But hey it works for me.

The person I need to find is a student, hopefully. If it's a teacher I need to rethink this plan. Ok I need to set up the magical equivalent of motion detectors. It should be simple enough. It would need two things: a shit load of power, and a pentacle (that's a five pointed star inside a circle.) Two things that have to be done in private. You draw a pentacle, people assume it's a pentagram, and then that there's some devil worshiping going on. I have to do this at the lighthouse. If I could get back there, and set some wards up.

First thing's first, I need to get a materials list together. I had the wire to make both circles. I had a map of the school that I could use as an indicator. The only thing I really need to get is something, preferably clay, (specifically red clay) to act as the motion detectors. The idea being, any thing magical crossing the line of clay, would show up on the map of the school. It's kind of reverse thaumaturgy, using something big to influence something small. I've never done anything like this before, but it doesn't seem too hard.

The power shouldn't actually be a problem. It's a school. So the maybe-warlock will move between classes just like the normal students. That means I only need to power the circle for ten minutes at a time, with almost an hour break in between. Provided I'm not being paranoid about this too, it should only take one day. Plus I already had an excuse because of this lump on the back of my head. I would just have to set everything up after dawn.

Dawn is a huge deal, magically speaking. It washes everything clean. There are very, very few spells that can hold power through dawn, none of which I can do. I don't have the sheer power or the control to pull it off.

Maybe I can enlist the help of a certain creature of the night. If she's up for it, that is. If not hopefully I can get someone else to help. I'm not sure that I could sneak in and plant small pieces of clay by myself before the school opens without getting caught. There wasn't much to do now but wait.

I picked up the notebook and walked back into the living room. I was beginning to wish I had a bed. Not that I mind this semi-comfortable couch, but it would be nice to stretch out without having to prop my feet up.

I yawned, the kind of yawn that makes your tongue cramp. Last night, or I suppose it was only evening had taken its toll on me. More magically than anything else. From now on I'm not going to use as much magic before I have to be around technology. I say let it fry. I yawned again, this time not so hard. I closed my eyes. A nap might do me some good.

Another dream! I wish that I would just stop dreaming, they were never good dreams. Always cold, and never the comforting kind. The cold that comes from within. I forgot all this in the past two days, but in sleep there is no way to hide from what's lurking in the soul.

_The lighthouse again. The cold of the stone floor seeped through my clothes. This time there were no chains. I wasn't sprawled out on the floor either; I was pressed against the wall hugging my knees to my chest to stop from shivering. The cold shouldn't bother me, it never did before. But this __**cold **__was didn't numb me, it caused me to ache. I tried to move. I could, but the pain from the cold was excruciating. I settled back into the huddle. I felt tears streaming down my face. I pressed my face to my knees wishing for it to end. A clicking of footsteps on the cold stones came closer. Who was to torment me this time? I peered up to see just who had come to me. My eyes were clouded with tears, but I could make out the figure perfectly clear. She was wearing a pale blue silk dress that stopped at the knee. It was a dressed I recognized. My eyes continued upwards. But there was no mystery anymore I knew exactly who it was. Her silver hair was elegantly done up, with a single curl hanging over he left eye. It hid one thing I found absolutely beautiful, something that should have marred her beauty, it made her real. Without that gentle curved scar. The only thing her father left her._

_It was the dress she wore the night of our senior prom. The night she made her decision. The night I lost her. At least she was the girl I loved. Not the faerie I killed._

"_Katherine." I said my face lighting up. I had very few good dreams of her anymore. I ignored the pain in my joints stood. The tears changed to those of joy. I reached for her. I longed to touch her again, her soft cold skin, against my hand. Her equally soft lips pressed against mine. I brushed my fingers gently against her cheek dragging my nails lightly. She closed her eyes and cooed, pressing against my hand._

_I wrapped one arm around her waist pulling her closer to me. The dress was as soft as I remembered it. My eyes were still streaming with tears. The girl I loved was here beside me, again. I wrapped my other hand around her neck and pulled her closer. Our lips met. It was like they never had parted. It was the most passionate kiss I remember. The kiss deepened. She wrapped her arms around my waist pulling me closer. I closed my eyes wanting to remember the feeling of her skin, the scent of her skin._

_It ended abruptly. I hadn't had time to open my eyes before I was pinned against the wall. She had one hand on either shoulder pushing be back against the cold stone walls._

_I opened my eyes as fast as I could. Katherine's were staring back at me with the fiercest intensity I had ever seen from her. "How could you forget about be!" She growled between clenched teeth. _

_Those were the most painful words she could have used. "Forget about you?" I questioned, "my love, there is no way I could forget you." No matter how long I lived these words would be true._

"_I see the way you look at that leech, that parasite, that demon!" I've never seen this fury in her before. "You're glad I'm dead. Now you can be with her!" She spat in the same fury._

_The thought had never crossed my mind, "no! I never tho..." My breath caught in my throat, I couldn't speak. Her eyes were cold now, taking an iciness that wasn't human. They burned right through me. I still couldn't speak; I tried but the only sound that came was a low rasping noise._

"_You will never see me again!" She said releasing me from her grip. I slumped to my knees and sobbed. Her heels clicking lightly across the stone floor. She was gone._

_Then everything went black._

I shot up from the couch. My breath was coming in ragged gasps. I was crying, real tears, tears of happiness mixed with tears of pain. I could still feel the kiss on my lips; smell her skin, the scent of her hair, the softness of her skin. Yet there was all that pain. I caught my head in my hands, and slumped forward.

Did she really believe that I betrayed her? Was I supposed to be miserable, is that what she wants? Was it even really her, or was this Katherine simply a figment of my subconscious? Somewhere deep inside me what she said was true. I did feel like I was betraying her. What if the glove was on the other hand; what if I was the one who was dead, would I want her to be in pain?

The simple answer, the real answer, is no. No, I wouldn't; I would know that she wouldn't forget me, forget us. Maybe this is my way of not forgiving myself. I thought I had accepted what I had done, after the Katherine I loved disappeared that night. Maybe I was just lying to myself all this time.

"You look like crap!" I heard a familiar sweet voice say. _That leech, that parasite, that demon._ The voice of Katherine echoed.

I looked up with tear stained eyes that suddenly didn't matter. Alice was safe; she was okay; I didn't get her killed. A sense of joy overwhelmed me. I jumped up immediately wiping the remaining tears from my face. I forgot about my ankle. It didn't seem to appreciate the sudden weight on it. My knee didn't even get the chance to buckle before Alice made it to my side keeping me steady. She could have caught me outright, but I suspect that she wanted to leave me some of my male ego intact.

"I feel a little like crap right now, but not as bad as Bella. Which I suppose is your fault." I playfully chided, sliding back down to the couch.

"Bad dream?" She said more of a statement than a question. She also sat down next to me on the couch.

"Ya, you could say that." My voice trailed off. I wasn't sure exactly how much to tell her; or how much she already knew. _You will never see me again_. The voice echoed again. I shook my head, trying to shake off the dream. "How are you?" I asked in a pathetic attempt to change the subject.

"Me? I'm fine, never better." She said as if last night never happened.

"You didn't look so well last night." I commented.

"Well, I heal fast." She explained casually, like she was talking about the weather. It must have been the blood, her eyes were back to liquid gold and the dark circles under her eyes were less noticeable.

"That's good." I said pausing; waiting for Katherine's voice to creep back in. It didn't and I breathed an internal sigh of relief. She moved closer wrapping her arm around my waist.

"Thank you." She said timidly as she laid her head on my shoulder. I wrapped my arm around her and gently stroked her hair.

"It's what I do." I said smugly. _You're glad I'm dead _her voice came back. It sent shivers up my spine. Alice looked up at me, with her golden eyes, I laughed to myself. She probably thought that she was the cause of my shiver.

We sat there for a while, Katherine's voice constantly echoing. I didn't mind it, now. It said what it wanted; besides it wasn't Katherine, not the real one at least, it was nothing more than a figment of my subconscious. The part of me that said I could never move on. "What are out thinking about?" She asked playfully. She shifted out of my arms and looked at me with those eyes of hers.

I hesitated, I thought about telling her the truth. "There's another problem." I lied, but it was close enough to the truth, "I told you about the seven laws right?" She nodded, "Yesterday, I felt someone trying to get in my head. I'm worried; if whoever was trying to get in my head succeeds the White Council will kill them." She looked up at me; her warm eyes had a look of worry in them.

"What are you going to do?" She asked in a small voice.

"I want to catch whoever tried to do it, before they break the law. I've seen too many my age killed because they broke a law they didn't know existed. I'm not going to let it happen." I told her about my plan in as much detail as she needed to know. She listened like child hearing a fairy tale for the first time, nodding at appropriate times. "The last thing I need is for your family to _not_ be at school tomorrow."

"Why," she asked inquisitively.

"I don't know if you're… family," I still hesitate using the 'family' to describe a group of vampires; "will set off the web. Maybe you guys could take a group hunting trip?" I suggested. I guess old prejudices die hard. Being around Alice, or any of her… family, is fine as long as I don't have to think about them being vampires. I fought vampires, I watched them kill good people. I shuddered at the thought.

"I fed last night," I grimaced, thinking about Alice draining the life out of some animal; I guess it's better than the alternative. "But I'm sure I could convince them to go."

"Good! Then you can help me, I'm still supposed to hurt, so I'm going to have to set everything up tonight. Then like I said I need to put all the clay up after dawn. That reminds me, is there any place around here that sells clay or play-doh?"

"Ya but, I remember having to make clay in science years ago. All it takes is cornstarch salt and water." She answered.

"Works for me, but we'll have to die it red." I really like when a plan works the way it should.

"I hid all your stuff under the floor of the lighthouse." She blurted out. My heart immediately went into overdrive, I balled my hands to fists, and my breathing became irregular. I was pissed. To put it lightly.

I shook my head, "I don't believe it! Most of those books are damn near irreplaceable. Not to mention the other stuff is really expensive on a warden's salary." I managed to keep my rage to a minimum. I hadn't put wards up at my storage locker, but I put the best veil I could around it. Besides, a storage locker blowing up would raise much more attention.

She let out hard laugh, "you're too easy." She said stifling another giggle.

"No, you just have a terrible sense of humor." I came back, still upset. I don't mind practical jokes when they're funny, but there's nothing funny about this.

"No, not terrible. I think the word is playful." She said sticking her tongue out at me.

"Either way." I chided, "Tonight's going to be long." I said mainly to myself. I was used to long nights by now, but that doesn't mean that I actually like them. Right now, at least, there better than the dreams I've been having.

I think she said something, but it was too soft for me to quite piece it all together. It may have been: '_in more ways than one' _or my ears were playing tricks on me. It scared me to know that I was out of the loop on this one. Is this paranoia?

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**Note x2: Just a helpful reminder to review if you feel so kind, or pissed. I like 'em either way.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Quick Note: This is the double part of the double update. Enjoy!**

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Chapter 16

Alice left. I took another nap. I wanted to be in peak shape for tonight. At some point the TV turned on providing me with the white noise, basketball. I think.

At some point I got up to get something to eat. Cleary Bella does all the cooking. The second night Bella was indisposed, the second night there was pizza. My head was feeling worse than it had earlier, whenever earlier was. I wasn't sure what was going to happen tonight, but it's a little late for these doubts. I still have these fantasies about a plan going right.

It's only taken me a few days to realize that I shouldn't really plan anything. All my planning goes out the window the moment Alice's eyes glaze over. I'll let her make the plans, just as long as they don't involve me dead on the floor. I know, I know, I'm paranoid, but I'm used to dealing with faeries that do this kind of shit all the fucking time. They'll act completely natural for as long as they feel like it, and then they'll try and kill you. Nothing rational about it. Vampires, for the most part, aren't much different. I could believe that Alice was different, but I don't know. Whatever she said earlier really unnerved me. Just the thought of it, sent my heart into overdrive.

Seconds painfully ticked into minutes, minutes into hours. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad without having to fake some small talk every once and a while. The pain in my head slowly eased up, replaced with the pain caused from small talk. I was glad that Charlie doesn't do a lot of talking. Time is painful. When you need it, there's never enough, and when you have some to spare there's no way to waste it. I even contemplated doing the homework for a school I didn't really go to. I quickly decided against that and stared out at the rain, that by now was coming down in thick sheets.

Tick

Tock

Tick

Tock

Soon the clock struck ten, metaphorically of course. There aren't many people who still have clocks that strike anything. I was wide awake. Bella never made an appearance today, Charlie went to bed, or went to work sometime around nine. As long as he didn't suspect me of anything I didn't care what he did. I'm pretty sure he felt the same way. I got up from the couch where I'd been watching the rain and got ready for tonight. I opened the window in the living room to make sure she knew I was ready.

I changed into a black long sleeve t-shirt and black fatigue pants. I learned that during the war these two items were the most utilitarian clothes ever produced. I tucked my blasting rod into one of the many pockets in my fatigues. I grabbed my sword bag and put it next to my blue overcoat. This overcoat is one of my few attempts at enchantment (putting magic into regular things.) I tried to make the coat to keep magic in, or well to keep magic from getting out; thus keeping me from frying technology. It works. Not well, but it works.

I'm never repeating my performance from yesterday. Using all my magic for no reason was the worst idea I've ever had. Worse than coming here with a cover story, worse than deciding to go back to high school. I almost two innocents die and damn near got myself killed in the process. If I broke shit because my head was exposed so be it. Fortunately I only have a problem breaking delicate electronics.

As long as Alice still had all my other supplies I was, "Ready?" she stole the words right out of my head.

"Ya. Are you sure that it's your brother that can read minds." I said wrapping myself in the extra large overcoat. "Is this going to work?" I asked as an afterthought.

"Don't know yet. But I'll let you know." She replied. Clearly she doesn't know when to lie.

"Okay let's go." I said grabbing my sword bag.

We both climbed out the window. No reason for anyone, meaning Charlie, to know that I left. Of course I did the typical pillow man, under a blanket. Pixie was smarter than I gave her credit for. She forewent her modern Porsche for a much more sensible Jeep. The rain hadn't really let up; it was going to be a really wet trip. I threw my bag in the back underneath the same tarp that was keeping my boxes from getting wet. Again smarter than she looks.

I was surprised just how fast the Jeep was able to go. We made it to the lighthouse in just less than fifteen minutes; completely smoked through to the bones. She pulled the Jeep up to the door of the lighthouse. I use the word 'door' in the broadest sense possible. It was more like a piece of wood with massive crude hinges. It works as a door, and should have the same properties. I just hope there's a roof, there's no way I could do any kind of spell in this rain. Moving water plus magic equals nothing. I grabbed my black bag and ran to the door.

It took three hard shoves before the ancient hinges gave way. The interior was cold, it was dark, but it was dry. What actually surprised me was how well kept it was. There was a roof, or something like one, I couldn't tell in the darkness. The floor was smooth and swept clean. The walls were much the same.

Shit, shit, shit, fuck! I forgot candles. There wasn't electricity out here, and I couldn't really build a fire bright enough. Well I can't have everything I want, that would be too easy. "You seem to have thought of everything, did you bring any…"

"Candles?" She chirped.

"Candles." I finished a beat too late, "Yes." This was starting to get on my nerves, I like finishing my own sentences.

We started working my new makeshift lab. Alice moved all of the boxes from the Jeep to the inside by the time I got back to the car. I wish I had that kind of speed. The first order of business was to set up some wards. I forgot to grab the emergency ward candles I had when I was at my storage unit. Those would probably come in handy soon. It took longer than I thought to set them up. Mainly because of the rain.

Wards can be simple, and they can be complicated. These were the complicated kind. The simple ones are like the emergency wards I have in candle form. They aren't meant to last more than a few hours. These I wanted to last a while, that meant lasting through several dozen dawns. Here's one of the exceptions to the dawn rule. It took the better part of four hours. The candles cast a soft glow over the light house, while we worked. I figured there's no point in having a second set of hands and wasting them. There was a lot of chanting, something I despise; herb burning, which we both hated; and walking in circles, which she definitely didn't like.

By one thirty, though, we were finished with them. Now for the worse part; making a magical set of keys so I didn't blow myself up. Of course I had to make one for Alice, after all this was her lighthouse. It didn't take long to make them, but I had to use some of the silver wire, which I didn't have a lot of. Plus I had to figure out a way to pull out her hair to give her a magical connection. Let my say that pulling a vampires hair is harder than it looks. When we were, correction, I was finished with this I decided a break was in order. Of course the energizer pixie was still at it, doing small things, stacking boxes, thumbing through books. I sat down against the stone walls. The lighthouse was pleasantly warm, the combination of the dozen or so candles, the burnt herbs, and my body heat. It was a far cry from the ice cold walls of the light house I dreamt about.

I closed my eyes, leaning my head against wall. "Party pooper." Alice said sitting next to me.

"This place needs chairs," I added, "or a couch. Something slightly more comfortable than stone."

"Ya, its one thing to have skin as hard as stone, but that doesn't make it comfortable to sit on." She laughed musically. There was silence for a moment. Until I broke it

"Ugh! How did I end up here?" I lamented.

"Simple, I drove you." She laughed again; it never ceased to amaze me just how musical her laugh was, like a soft melody.

"No, I mean how did I end up here in Forks, in Washington. How did I end up being a warden? Well that one I can answer." I trailed off. That's my problem when I'm tired, I tend to ask pointless rhetorical questions.

"How?" She asked. She shifted so that she was leaning her side against wall, facing me.

"That's a long story." I muttered closing my eyes again. I knew that I should start making the casting circle and pentagram. Not because it was hard, or it would take time, because I wanted to get a few hours of sleep before trying to get the web going.

"We do have time." She responded with a hint of child like sarcasm.

"Fine. It was few years ago. It was the last major battle in the war. Harry was off doing something in Faerie, while the rest of us young wizards were at a boot camp." I don't normally like telling war stories, but there was something about the look in her eye that made me want to tell it. "I don't quite get how you didn't know what was going on. We were just over the border into Oregon. We moved the location from Arizona, or New Mexico, someplace out in the desert, after we were attacked by ghouls."

"Captain Luccio said I showed some prowess in combat magic, but I had little control of it. Even less than I do now, which is amazing. But I remember her telling me that I showed a natural ability in planning a battle. I guess it was all the time I spent playing strategy games as a kid." I let out a small laugh, "no one ever beat me in a game of capture the flag. Apparently that translates into actual battle. Anyway, it was night when we were attacked by an overwhelming force. To put this into perspective the Red King and Queen were both there. We didn't really stand a chance, in a fair fight. Thankfully I don't believe in fighting fair. Commander Morgan took charge of the fight, leaving us newbies rather defenseless. The other wizards also went into battle. Being around Harry I had been in a couple of scrapes before. So I knew when it was time to panic and when it was time to duck and wait."

"Now here's the part where things get interesting." She smiled and nodded intently. "I don't really know what happened, but it was like a grandmaster of chess visualizing twenty moves ahead. I could see what people were going to do before they did it. I could see just how the battle would play out. It wasn't going to turn out well for us. I'm sure you know what all this is like. Then I started manipulating the people, what if he moved here, what if she focused on the vampire on her left rather than the one in front. I started being able to see the best way to play it out. I started shouting 'suggestions' to the wizards below. At first they didn't pay any attention to them. Then one person did, a young warden, I don't remember his name. It worked! Everyone started listening to what I was saying. Even Morgan, the most stubborn man I have ever met. In the end he got within twenty feet of the Red King, before the turned and ran. Morgan will never admit he listened to anything I said, but I beg to disagree."

"After the battle, I was promised that as soon as the war ended I would be made a warden. Until then I would serve as Luccio's personal tactical advisor. That meant that my apprenticeship to Harry ended. He gained a new one, that same day. But that's another story entirely. That gift is just that, a gift. There really isn't anything magical about it. That was four years ago. I was seventeen. Two years later, the war officially ended and I got my grey cloak. Another two years go by and here I am." I finished with a grand bow, while still sitting on the floor. Alice applauded.

"Your starting to remind me a little of Jasper." I took that as a compliment, but I wasn't sure. "You both were born of war, and baptized by fire early. You both carry emotional scars to match the physical ones. If he had to die, I'm glad he was killed by a kindred spirit." This was definitely a compliment, but I wasn't sure I liked it. There were a few uncomfortable moments of silence. "You're nervous." It was much more of a statement than a question.

Without answering I got up and walked to the small stack of books. I looked over them, hoping I brought the one I was looking for. I didn't find it. It was probably still in my suitcase. "I am. I was hoping I could show you why, but I'll have to tell you instead." It was a good thing I had this particular passage memorized. "Vampires of all kinds and types share many common traits. The most dangerous of these involve the idea of mates; if one of a mating pair is killed; than the other will, without a doubt, extract vengeance. Or die trying." I couldn't look at her. It's still a constant struggle to accept that she is still a vampire at heart.

I went back to work without a second thought. I grabbed the small spool of gold wire, and began winding a circle in the middle of the lighthouse. I couldn't look at her, I tried to avoid looking at her, she hadn't moved. I didn't want to hurt her; it was the last thing I wanted. Hadn't I hurt her enough already? I focused back onto the circle, it was a little less than five feet in diameter; smaller than I would have liked. It was hard keeping my mind on what I was doing. I tacked the circle down with some 'as seen on TV' crap I picked up a while ago.

I took the silver wire and tacked the end to the North end of the circle, then followed the same pattern that most teachers use to put a star on a test. I tacked each point of the star down. Alice hadn't moved an inch; she just sat there like a statue. I felt terrible, but I had to let her know. I was starting to like her too much, to lie to her. "You know," she started in an emotionally flat tone, "I've wanted to hate you, I've tried to. I can't. Too much has happened. Maybe I could have hated you if you never talked to me that day." She choked the last words out. She stood up and walked to me, slowly; measuring out each stepped. If I hadn't known better I would have said she was dancing. Her eyes were glistening.

"Alice, I… I… you… they… it." I stammered, looking for the right noun.

"There's nothing you can say. I don't want to kill you; I don't think I ever would. Shadow or no." She was close now, really close. I could feel her breath on my neck. She looked up at me, the tears in her eyes had vanished; there was a small, soft smolder in their place. "From the moment you walked into the dining room, I felt something. If my heart could have it would have raced, my face would have flushed. It was like when I first saw _him_ in my vision." I was speechless, absolutely speechless; that doesn't happen very often. Was she saying what I think she was saying?

"Are you…you're…" I was still speechless. My mouth was dry. My heart was beating out of my chest. My hands were shaking. My mind was racing a million miles a second.

"Falling in love with you, yes. I think so." She quickly qualified.

My world slowed to a stop. Everything I had been feeling seconds before evaporated. I was left in a cold black hole. My mind disconnected from the rest of me, my vision dimmed, sounds were coming across a hundred miles. My stomach lurched up into my throat. I blacked out, I think. I saw this coming, I don't know why. I never believed that she was trying to get revenge on me. I used that as a shield, a barrier to deny what was really going on.

No! I knew what was going on, I felt it too. I just tried to deny everything I saw, everything I felt. There was no rational way to think anything else. If anyone saw this from the outside they would have seen it. I'm supposed to be the perceptive one! I squeezed my eyes shut and tried

You know that feeling you get just before you throw up! Yeah, that's pretty much what I felt like. I'm pretty sure that I bruised my knees going down, but I didn't care. After I finished there was less than nothing in my stomach. It was rank, it was foul, and I was glad when I felt the cold stone against my forehead.

Is it rude to throw up and collapse when someone says they're falling in love with you? "I'm sorry," I mumbled half coherently. Was she still there? Could I really blame her for leaving?

"It's okay, I saw it coming." I blinked my eyes open. The stone floor I was resting against was not a stone floor. It was her hand. Her other was rubbing soft circles on my back.

"Still, that wasn't the right response. Last time I checked the proper response to someone saying anything involving love didn't involve vomiting on said person." I tried to laugh, but it came out as a cough. She did laugh her sweet melodic laugh. Now I know what Horatio was talking about at the end of Hamlet. 'Let flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.'

A wizard who knows Shakespeare. Who knew?

"Okay, I'm going to stand up." I said mostly to myself. I got my feet under me and managed to stand up. Whatever had washed over me was beginning to ebb. My head felt right, I could see, hear, feel, smell, and oh good god could I taste! My mouth tasted like, well like vomit. I squeezed my eyes shut before blinking a few times. The world around me stopped spinning. Everything was right, except for a puddle of my finest work. I felt better? "You thought of everything else; what about…" She cut me off again, surprise, surprise.

"Water, toothbrush, toothpaste? I saw it both ways so…"

"You brought both." I added as fast as I could. It felt really, really good to cut her off for a change. She smiled and nodded.

"They're in the glove box." She added with a quick smile.

The rain was cold and uncomfortable. It came down in sheets as I went to get the toothbrush from the Jeep. The rain may have sucked, but the fresh air was nice; it gave me a silent kick in the ass. The night was pitch dark, no moon, no stars, no street lights. I willed energy into my ring and followed the soft red glow.

I took a big swig of water, swished, gargled, spat. That dislodged the remaining bits of god knows what. I grabbed the toothbrush and toothpaste and went to work trying to get the taste of old pizza, Chinese food, and a hot dog I had when I was seven out of my mouth. I might have brushed for an hour, or a minute. In the dark can you really tell the difference?

When I walked back to the door I was soaked to the bone. The cold, the wet, they didn't bother me like they would normal people; so when I felt a slight shiver creep down my spine when I got back to the door, I knew it wasn't the weather. I paused, looking around. I stretched my sight into the inky black; I did the same with my hearing. Nothing.

I shoved the door open, thanking to whatever god I pray to that I didn't blow myself back to 1892. Why 1892? I don't know, but it seems like a good year. Looks like my wards are holding well, and the keys work. I pulled the heavy 'door' closed before I noticed that the two dozen candles that had softly illuminated the lighthouse were all out. Except for five. One on each point of the pentagram. The other surprising sight was that my puke was cleaned up. Cleaning up after someone hails the porcelain god, now that's love.

I stepped in the middle of the pentacle (that's a five pointed star wrapped in a circle for those playing the home game) and gently traced over the circle with my hand, sending a small effort of will to close it. I knew immediately that I had managed to do this right. I could hear, or rather feel a magical hum all around me. It was soothing, like a mother humming a child to sleep, or the snore of the drunk sitting next to you on the two A.M. bus.

This circle will, hopefully, be able to enhance my ability to pick up on the magic detected by the clay, and then focus it on the map of the school so I can see wherever the not-warlock is going. Then I can not so magically break into the school and look through the class schedules and find the magic person.

This might actually work! I'm not used to a plan coming together and working so quickly. It was only yesterday that I realized that something would have to be done to stop someone from getting killed.

I closed my eyes and listened to the hum. Yes I wondered where Alice had gone too, but this was the first time I've been one hundred percent comfortable and peaceful in a long, long time. It felt like hours later when the circled was broken. The magic of the circle was released with a short, soft popping noise.

I hadn't broken the circle, so that means only one other person could have. I didn't open my eyes; I just concentrated in front of me. I could feel her more than anything else. I felt her sit down. She sat close to me; I could feel her cold breath on my face. I didn't move; I didn't want to. I don't think I could even if I wanted too. I was way too comfortable, too relaxed, and too interested to see how far she was going to take it.

As it turns out not much further. I opened an eye a crack not enough to see clearly. It looked like she was trying to close a circle. Finally she gave up and turned back towards me. I quickly closed my eye again. I heard her give a little huff of frustration. I opened my left eye and cocked my eyebrow.

Her arms were crossed over her chest, her shoulders were slumped, and her lower lip was extended. It was a pout if I ever saw one. "What's wrong?" I asked softly as I reached out and stroked her cheek.

She quickly looked down, severing contact with my hand, "You looked relaxed in here; I wanted to join you." She was adorable (yes I said adorable) when she pouted.

I cupped her face in both hands bringing her eyes to mine, "Ok, I'll show you." I said as I stood up. I repeated the process, tracing my finger around the circle, summoning more will into it again. The circle closed again and the soft humming of magic was back. I slipped by Alice, careful to avoid breaking the circle. This is one of the few times there isn't a danger in breaking the circle.

I sat back down in front of her. She smiled, but said nothing. I closed my eyes again, her words replaying themselves in my mind over and over and over again. _Falling in love with you, yes_. They made me feel something, but what exactly? I didn't know. I wasn't sure it was love. In fact I was almost positive it wasn't. Love should be unconditional, but I found one glaring condition. She was a vampire! For right now it didn't matter.

As I was thinking Alice crawled into my lap and leaned her head in the crook of my neck, her arms wrapping around me. She was soft (hard); she was cold; she was comfortable; she was something. I wrapped my arms around her, my right around her waist, my left gently stroking her hair. Morning was a few hours off and it would come all too quickly.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: No real one this time…Just Read and Enjoy!!**

Chapter17

I hate when I'm right. The morning came too quickly. I didn't notice the time passing. The soft hum of the circle combined with Alice's smell put me into a relaxed state far better than real sleep would. It couldn't last forever though, Alice snapped out of whatever daze she was in.

"We have to get you back." She said in an urgent tone, coupled with disappointment. She didn't move her head. Her breath, cold against my neck, sent a new wave of goose bumps down my spine; causing me to shiver involuntarily.

"I know. I know." I mumbled in a moan of disappointment, not letting her go. I stretched my leg out and broke the circle. There was the tell tale hiss pop. The soothing hum was gone. I still didn't let go. I figured I would eventually get up, but I didn't want to let go.

It took a little convincing and contorting of my muscles, but I managed to stand up without letting go of her. The candles around us had burned out in the night, but the interior was surprisingly bright. I carried her small frame as far as the door. "Okay, we really need to go now. I have to get back before anyone wakes up, and you have to go put the clay around the school."

"I don't wanna." She pouted, shaking her head against my neck. She wasn't making this very easy on me.

"Come on," I started, "what happened to needing to go?"

"I changed my mind." She whimpered holding tighter. I agreed with her more than anything. I didn't want to leave, and under any other circumstances I wouldn't. When was the last time I mentioned just how bad of an idea it was to use a cover? Well I'm going to say it again; going undercover was the worst idea Ever!

"The faster we do this the faster we get back here." I said in an effort to persuade her. She looked up at me with her own personal version of the puppy-dog eyes. "Come on, let's go." I said kissing her forehead. Apparently that's the key, in less than half a second she let go, opened the door, and made it to the jeep. There are days where I wish I had half that speed. Those are the days that have vowels. Then there are days when I consider what price that speed would have, those are the days of the week that end in a "y."

I pulled the door shut effectively locking my wards. I walked to the passenger side of and slid in. I was starting to get used to the controlled madness with which she drove. The sun was still safely tucked behind the horizon, I figured it couldn't be later than four thirty; the clock in the jeep begged to differ. It boldly claimed it was closer to five thirty. Ok, so wizards don't have an enhanced ability to calculate time, sue me. At least we can accurately judge the weather, and seeing there was no water falling from the sky, I can say with certainty it wasn't raining.

When we got back to my current umm-uh… lodgings; both cars were in the makeshift driveway. The less I have to explain about anything the better. I climbed back in through the window, I left open. The room and the house were just like I left them, there weren't any signs of life yet. I quickly changed out of my damp fatigue pants, and pulled on a pair of plaid pajama pants. I ruffled the bedding and moved some pillows around; anything to make it look like I actually slept here.

When all that work was done I actually laid down. There was too much going on for me to actually sleep. There was too much chance that I would actually be able to prevent something rather than having to clean up afterwards. I probably arrived just in time to do what I had to before someone woke up. Bella knew a lot of things, but there's no reason she needs to know what's going on. I don't feel the need to worry her that one of her classmates may or may not be a warlock. I also don't want to explain what a warlock is right now.

Sure enough less than ten minutes later there were footsteps creaking down the stairs. I quickly feigned sleep, my heart rate was normal, as was my breathing. It wasn't a stretch pretend to sleep, even though my mind was racing.

What the fuck was going on? In the past seventy two hours I've killed one vampire from a species I didn't know existed, crippled another that was killed shortly; befriended a large group (family? coven?) of vampires who eat animals instead of people; found out there was someone with magical potential that was two steps away from being executed. Oh I almost forgot: the mate (wife?) of the first vampire I killed is somehow falling in love with me; the same woman (vampire?) whose been haunting my dreams for the past two months. And on top of that there's apparently a vampire problem bad enough that the scribe of the White Council needs help.

The thought of this is enough to make me puke, again. I have been in situations like this a few times before, large amount of questions and no answers. If history serves, it only takes one question to be answered, one domino to fall, to start a chain reaction.

Whoever was on the stairs padded over to the kitchen and started working on breakfast. There was no way it was Bella, she was probably too sick to be up and about. I feel slightly guilty for getting her sick, but that's better than the alternative. The alternative being death.

The heaviness of the actions in the kitchen definitely confirmed that it was Charlie. Are there apartments in Forks? I mean this was a good place to start, it saved a week's worth of investigation, but I need to know that I'm not being watched, and I'm scared to death of slipping up and exposing myself.

More than anything I want to operate on my schedule.

As I lay there with all these thoughts bombarding me one after another after another, the only common thread was Alice. It was true I couldn't call what I felt for her love, not yet at least. I liked her, yes. I really liked her, yes. I thought about her constantly. It seemed impossible that I once loathed the angelic figure in my dream. And with all this, this feeling I could not say I loved her. Maybe falling in love was an appropriate term. Yes, I could love her. In fact I was coming very close.

I think more than anything being forced to hide what I am gives me too much damn time to think. I don't really like living in my head this much. All this thinking makes me second guess myself. Sometimes I just need to fly by the seat of my pants, throw caution to the wind, and any other appropriate cliché.

I lay there waiting for Charlie to leave. Today was a big day. I didn't have time to lie around. I needed to finish preparations for the spell, the circle was working, and the clay should work, as long as I had a piece to link the two. I was nervous as hell! This was the first time I was going to attempt such a spell and from a distance. Shit! I hope there wasn't any running water between the school and the light house. That would seriously mess with me mojo. Yes, sometimes I like to use other accents in my head; it's not all aristocratic tea parties up there.

Anyway, back to the present. After what can only be described as a short eternity in hell the front door finally creaked shut and the dead bolt clicked into place. I hopped up from the couch, and worked fast. I dressed in what I wore the night before, they are my Wednesday cast a spell clothes. I have a magical outfit for every occasion, well not really.

The average person would be quite surprised just what in the kitchen can be used in magic. I didn't quite know what exactly I would need.

So I grabbed some of everything: parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme. Not feeling so poetical I snatched up the jar of marjoram and the salt shaker too. The basics of starting any decent Italian restaurant, of course they all had a magical purpose. Salt for example can be used to strengthen a spell (like the circle I put Bella in.) Thyme can be used to enhance focus. The list goes on and on and on and on and on and on. It occurred to me to grab some of them last night, but that would have involved turning on a light and looking through cupboards, two things that routinely call attention.

"She's late." I muttered to myself shoving small bags and jars of the spices into my coat pocket as I started to pace around the cramped living room. "Good god she can see the future but she can't see what time to come back." I said as I stared out the window, watching the rain; knowing that it would make today exceptionally hard.

"I don't think she's late." Alice mused suddenly appearing beside me. "I think she's right on time." She laughed, slipping an arm around my waist.

"Okay then let's go!" I barely had time to finish my sentence before her grip around my waist tightened and her other found the crook of my knee.

She picked me up bridal style! Bridal style! Does any guy, other than me, know just how embarrassing it is to be picked up, by someone a good fourteen inches shorter and less than half my weight? Had another man seen me I would have lost all man points I had. That's saying something about someone who's seen a war.

All I can say is thank God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Jehovah, Allah, Glarnak the alien king, and Tom Cruise himself that she was fast and that the car was close. No doubt about it; I would have keeled over dead if another creature in this universe saw that emasculating display.

"That was not exactly what I had in mind." I said in disgust once my feet were planted firmly on the ground.

She just stuck her tongue out at me, "Get in." She smiled at me before adding, "Or I'll leave you again." She gave a small wink as I opened the door to the jeep.

There wasn't enough time during the ride to actually say anything substantial. I waited until the jeep squealed to a stop. "OK so you put the clay on the doorjambs off all the classrooms, plus the gym and locker rooms." I said in a businesslike manner. I put aside all thoughts of friendships, of love; until what must be done is done.

She nodded and murmured a yes, "I made more than I needed so I brought the rest." She said pulling a small plastic bag from her pants pocket.

"Thank you, I knew I was forgetting something." I said taking the bag from her. It was hard to keep things professional. I made up my mind; I was going to tell her…I think. "Let's get started." I said as I started towards my new lab. It only took one good shove for the door to give way. I was either getting better at it, or the hinges were loosening up. The candles were still scattered about from last night. "Flicus," I muttered softly with only a wisp of will all the candles burst into flame.

"Impressive," Alice said appearing by my side, "Do you do birthdays?"

"Nope," I cut her off, "I don't do birthdays, weddings, funerals, or love potions." I said butchering Harry's ad in the yellow pages.

She let a small giggle, "You mean that there are really such things as love potions." She said surprised.

"Ya, why wouldn't there be; wizards want to get laid too." I said as I broke a piece of clay off, rolling it into a ball I put it on the north point of the star. "What time is it?" I asked changing the conversation.

"Almost seven." I glared at her, twirling my hand as if to say 'and,' "six fifty-three if you want to be specific." She said sticking her tongue out at me.

"Ok let me know when it's seven thirty."

"What do you want me to do?" She asked moving around in front of me. Crap, I forgot that there was going to be an extra person.

"Well I hadn't really thought about that," I said chuckling lightly, "I guess what I need you to do is easy. A room on the map will light up whenever a magic source passes the clay. You right down the room number."

"That's it!" She scoffed, "You drag me all the way out here to be your god damn secretary." She broke into a beautiful smile pulling a pen and note pad seemingly out of thin air. "Where do I sit?"

"Anywhere outside the circle." I replied cheerfully, drawing my finger in a circle to emphasize my point.

I walked into the middle of the circle and did my best to fit into the center of the star. That's why I wanted the circle to be at least six feet wide. The wider the circle the larger the star; the larger the star the easier I could fit in the center. If I could fold myself into the pentacle then I could put a lot more power behind the spell; handy since I'm trying to cast a spell over a large distance. I pulled the small lancet out of my pocket. I wanted to seal the circle with something more powerful than some will. Mortal blood is one of the most powerful magical conductors. Just like Bella's circle.

I could feel two separate energies form swirling, intermixing with each other. The first was the soft shimmering blue light from the outer circle. The second was a much stronger and more potent magic. The magic from the star felt red, probably from the clay on the point. I focused on the clay doing all I could to connect the clay in front of me to all of the pieces of clay scattered across Forks High School.

I closed my eyes and visualized each individual piece of clay and then drew an imaginary line from each piece to 'master piece' in the circle. When that was done I no longer had to think about the pieces of clay at Forks High, I could concentrate on the one piece and put more umph behind it. All I focused on was detecting magic; seeing it feeling it, hearing it, smelling it. The lines I was visualizing grew thicker and stronger.

I built the power up adding more, and more, and more. Sweat was forming on my forehead; my heart was beginning to beat fast, my breathing increased. It's kinda like I was starting on a five mile run, except that it was my mind tiring and not my legs. The magic that swirled around me was getting thicker, like a blanket of fog. I could feel it suffocating me, I was getting close. I just had to hold on a little longer.

I refocused; pouring all my will into the spell. The sweat was dripping down my face. I just needed a few more moments. If I broke my concentration now all this work would have been for nothing. I had to do one more thing; I had to close the distance between where the spell was and where the web would go. I visualized a crease forming in the world folding on itself, causing the light house to be right on top of the high school.

With one swift motion I broke the star and the circle. The power of the spell shot out of the circle in a torrent of air, vaporizing the piece of clay that I had used as a focus. I fell flat on my back out of breath, and exhausted. Not drained, just tired.

I stared at the ceiling hoping the spell worked. It should, I did everything right. But there's always that small margin of screwing up. "Holy shit!" Alice exclaimed. I jumped to my feet and pulled my blasting rod from my pocket. I took a second and looked around. Alice was perched on the top of some of the boxes off the side staring at her hands like they just burst into flames.

"What's wrong?" I asked rushing over to where she was.

She had this shocked look on her face, "It just started glowing." She said in a completely tone.

"What the school map?" She just nodded with a blank stare. "It's supposed to do that. It means the spell worked. Yes, the spell worked!" I did an internal happy dance, the spell worked

"I was…I'm not used to…it surprised me." She stuttered. She still had that blank look and just stared at her hands.

I took hold of her cool hands, "You've only seen the kind of magic that can destroy." I said looking into her honey eyes, "Magic can also help people, like _we_ are today." I emphasized to word 'we' to let her know that she was just as responsible for helping someone today as I am. She still had a shocked look, "magic can also be used to create." I pressed her hands together never taking my eyes off hers. I muttered a few words under my breath and unfolded our hands.

Lying between her palms was a single white rose.

Yes I know it's really, really, really, really, really corny, but c'mon sometimes corny is exactly what you need to prove a point; and other times corny passes for romantic.

She broke out into a huge grin, "You know this is too cheesy right?" She giggled; I nodded. I swear she's the empath, "but thanks." She added with a dazzling smile.

"Sorry it's the only trick I know. It's not even a real rose." I said reluctantly. I muttered a few more words and the rose vanished from her hands.

"Hey, just because I said it was cheesy doesn't mean I didn't like it!" She said with a pout. I repeated the process bringing the rose back, she smiled and brought it to her nose, inhaling deeply.

"Silly vampire, it doesn't smell. It's an illusion." I chided.

"Shush! I'm pretending." She waited smelled it again, "how long will it last?"

"'til dawn maybe," I replied, "is it seven thirty yet?" I began to get this uneasy feeling, maybe because I would be saving a life for a change.

"It's seven twenty-nine." Alice reported looking at a new cell phone, how it survived in the torrent of magic is beyond me.

"Close enough," I said picking up the wrinkled school map, "Time to watch paint grow and grass dry."

"Why? School doesn't start for another half hour." She questioned. I motioned for her to look at the map.

"What we did was set up a network of tripwires, not motion detectors. The rooms on the map will light up for two seconds, maybe less when they're crossed. The rain's not helping either." Without saying another word she grabbed her pen and notepad and sat statuesque over the map.

I wish that I could say that being a wizard and a warden was all running around throwing fireballs, killing evil-doers in long black cloaks, slaying dragons, and rescuing beautiful fairy princesses. The truth is that that stuff only happens five percent of the time. The other ninety-five percent of the time is sitting and waiting for something to happen, and occasionally preparing for all the bad possibilities. It's not an exciting life, maybe that's why we live a really long time? That way we don't get upset about spending so much time waiting for things to happen.

"Got one!" Alice exclaimed in a voice so high that I thought my eardrums would rupture. "Building six, room three." Her eyes glazed over, I wasn't sure if she was having thinking or having a vision. "It's Mr. Jefferson." She added a split second later.

"Did you just have a vision?" I asked with more than necessary concern in my voice

"No it took me a while to cycle through all the room numbers and teachers."

"A while!" I choked on a laugh, "it was less than a second."

"I know," she sounded disappointed, "I should have been able to do it faster."

"You know, for a creature who has eternity, you certainly do everything fast." I said as a half chuckle.

"Ya, it's one of our quirks. So we have close to an hour before this mystery person changes class. What do we do?" She said with an unrecognizable glint in her eye, and a mischievous smile on her lips.

"Something tells me you already know the answer, and if you don't you're pretending you do." I shot back.

"Maybe, maybe not." She said with an unmistakable mischievous look. I knew better.

"You know exactly what I'm about to say don't you?" I asked. She nodded a single time. "So is there any point in saying it?" I continued. She shrugged this time. I decided that now wasn't the right time. The minutes ticked by slowly, I wanted to say something, about last night, about tonight, about anything; but I couldn't. I didn't want to say anything if she already knew what I was going to say.

"Let's just say I don't like surprises either." I said breaking the minute's long silence, "and, well, let's just say that what you said hit me like a truck. I…I…Since…"

"You don't have to say it." She cut me off mid stutter. "I don't have to see the future to know." She drifted off.

"No! I need to say it. I've shut my life down since I killed the one woman I loved. I've been a shell. But then I come here and all of this shit happens and it seems business as usual until last night. Last night changed everything, and all I want to do is say exactly what you said to me, but I can't. Believe me when I say that I want to with every single fiber of my being. I want to say 'I'm falling in love with you' hell I want to say 'I love you.' But…" She appeared in front of me in a flash, there was some anger in her eyes.

Her jaw was clenched when she spoke with pure fury, "How dare you! How dare you talk about this like its all your problem! I saw everything. I saw you coming to Forks six months ago. I saw you kill Jasper well before you showed me the picture. I saw all of this and I didn't do a fucking thing to stop any of this!"

"I saw it, I saw myself falling in love with you. It's something I wasn't prepared for. I lied to you when I said he was acting differently. It was me," her voice was dripping with a mixture of fury and sadness, "I saw it, I saw that the life I've been living for the better part of the century was wrong. I was so sure it was right when I saw it, that I let my life become solely about what was comfortable. Less than a week ago I took the risk; I let him die because of what I saw. And then you stand here and try to say that this decision is yours alone." Her voice was filled with nothing but desperation.

I wanted to grab her, to hold her, to tell her that everything would be fine. I couldn't. My feet were glued in place. My voice was cemented to my throat. My mind separated from my body. I wasn't there anymore I was locked in the back of my mind. I saw my legs start to move much more than I felt them. I knew exactly what was going to happen. Well one of two things would happen, one I would say those three words that girls love to hear and guys have an innate hatred for. Or my body, not me, was going to go right up and kiss her. I'm not sure what the worse was option.

Or maybe, maybe somewhere deep inside, I decided that these were the best options. This could have been the more acting and less thinking strategy I wanted. My feet were still moving towards her, my heard my breathing become erratic, my heart beat sounded like an alarm ringing through the confines of my head. I still wasn't sure what my body was going to do.

I fought get control of my body again, but it was like running against the tide. I knew I would regain control, but at this rate it would be in the middle of whatever stupid decision my body was going to make. I could barely make out that Alice was still saying something; I could hear the pain in her voice.

I was getting closer to having control of my body again. I was getting some feeling back, but I still wasn't in control. And it wouldn't be until I was too far in to change anything. I felt myself lift my arms up and put one tenderly around her waist and the other and the other around her neck. I still wasn't sure what I was going to do still. I was constantly gaining more feeling, but not control.

I leaned in closer, and closer; the closer I was the more she melted into me. Then bam! I was back in the driver seat. I pulled her closer, finally listening to my gut. I knew exactly which door I was going to choose.

I brought my lips closer to hers. At the last moment I moved them away. Well away isn't the right word. Instead I brought them to her ear, "there's no doubt about it. I love you."

She craned her head over to my ear. "Building two, room one." Wow and people say I can kill a moment.

"At least you didn't throw up." See, what I mean about killing the moment, "That's two down, and now we have another hour to kill."

**A/N: Please review should your muse descend upon you…and if it doesn't than at least tell your friends**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well I tried posting this yesterday for close to twelve hours, sadly the document manager was down. Well Blurred Lines is officially done; all that remains is to be edited so expect updates more frequently.**

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Chapter 18

The rest of the day passed just like that. Every hour or so she would pause and write down a room number. But the majority of time was spent just the two of us holding each other, not wanting to move. Not saying a word. The candles around us burnt out hours ago leaving us in near darkness. I don't know how to describe what it felt like, being with her. I was so sure that I would never feel love again, or at least love like this. In any other circumstance; I would be uncomfortable; but with Alice, it just seemed right. That's a terribly cliché way to describe it, but true none the less.

Seems that the longer I stay with Alice the more cliché and cheesy I become.

By three o'clock six room numbers were scrawled on the notebook paper in Alice's own personal calligraphy; the cipher to find this mystery person. I remember trying to be business like this morning. That ranks in the top three mistakes I've made since I showed up. I shivered at the thought of having to go back to using my cover tomorrow, that meant having to go to school and pretending to be English again.

"Cold?" Alice murmured into my neck, her cool breath on my neck sent a ripple of goose bumps down my spine.

"No, just dreading that I have to go to school again." I whispered into her ear.

"Are you telling me you're not cold, even a little bit?" She asked placing her icy hands on either side of my face. They were cold, but I've known colder.

"Silly vampire, my only real girlfriend was a Winter Fae. You're warm compared to her." I murmured into her hair.

She shifted from her resting spot, "okay, two questions." She said staring into my eyes, "first, how am _I_ warmer than anything?" she said pressing the back of her hand against my neck. I suppressed a shiver. "Second what do you mean by _real _girlfriend?"

"You're cold, granted; but you're _just_ cold. Winter faeries are not only cold but they absorb heat." I shivered at the thought, "maybe that's why I like the cold, it reminds me of her." I ran my hands through her spiky hair. "That came out wrong." I said scrambling to find the right words. "I mean that I like the cold; that they're are nothing but good memories attached to it." I finished leaning in placing a light kiss on her forehead.

"Good save," she said softly, her sweet breath drifted into my nose. "What about my second question? What do you mean by real?"

I took a long ragged breath. Alice knew exactly how to kill a perfect day. "If I tell you this story it's the last one I'll tell you for while. If I tell you all my stories now what will I tell you later?" She nodded frantically and urged me to go on. "Here goes nothing. Let me start by saying that everything I said to you is true, I really love you." She nodded and took my hand. "It was about six months after Katherine died and I tried to kill Harry. I was just starting to move on, but the hole in my chest hadn't really begun to heal yet. I was bouncing around from place to place doing what I could for the war. I was in Arizona at the time. Phoenix to be exact…but I digress"

"There were a lot of reported vampire sightings there, even more attacks. I'll never understand why there are vampires who like sunny climes, but that's not really the point. At the time I was rather…umm…ambivalent on whether or I lived. The vampire attacks were the work of the Black Court. The stereotypical kind of vampires; ya know wooden stakes, holy water, coffins." I added realizing that Alice didn't know the difference in vampire species. "It wasn't a proud time for me I was living out of this fleabag motel so bad it makes Motel 6 look like The Plaza. I would go out at night with stakes, holy water, blasting rod. Everything I needed to dust some vampires. I had patrol routes worked out. I would get two or three every night." I loved the way she wrapped herself in my stories. The look on her face was almost childlike, but more beautiful, more angelic.

"Here's where the real story starts. About three weeks into my _stay_ it must have been a Monday, because I was going through a high school. I heard a fight in the distance, it sounded like the standard vampire attack, screams, scrambling, dying. I ran at full speed towards it. I was ready for a fight, I wanted a fight, I was going on pure bloodlust." The memories of my lack of humanity had a real way of making me feel empty.

"I rounded blind corner near the gym, or the library or something, and there she was. Dressed in a tight black tank top, and even tighter jeans, she was fighting with two leeches. From what it looked like she had already killed one; there was an empty crossbow at her feet. She was doing better than holding her own, she was actually winning." I paused blinking away a few tears. "Do you really want to hear this story, I'm not proud of it, and I really wish it never happened."

"You can't start a story like this and not finish it. I promise, no matter what happened it won't change the way I feel about you." She pulled me into a very tight embrace, "no matter what." She whispered in my ear; instantly I felt a wave of calm wash over me.

"Okay. So I was watching her fight these two Black Court leeches, and getting really turned on," She pulled back and gave me an evil glare, "You wanted the real story," I shot back. Alice nodded and went back to resting her head on my shoulder. I continued on, absently running my fingers through her soft hair. "Maybe it was the way she was dressed, or the way she moved when she fought. I stopped and watched her for a minute, before I joined the fight. I started off throwing a bottle of holy water and the one closest to me. It broke right between her shoulder blades, the vampire not the girl. She let out an ear piercing hiss and lunged at me. She was fast, I was faster. I brought up my shield and watched as she slammed into it. I leveled my blasting rod and hit her with a bolt of lightning right in her chest. It didn't stop her for long, but long enough for me to put a stake through her heart, and watch her turn to dust."

"This girl was pinned to the ground when I looked up. I tightened my grip on the blasting rod before I let out a column of fire. I hit the second one square in the face. It tumbled off of her with a stake through its heart. The older a Black Court vampire is the longer it takes to die. I walked up to this girl in black." I was beginning to relive this story instead of just telling it.

_She was maybe five six, with ivory skin pale enough and flawless enough to pass for a vampire. Her hair was also dark, and done in a single braid. There were two features that really stood out. The first was a scar that ran diagonal from just below her right eye and ended somewhere on her jaw. The second and by far the feature that stood out the most were her eyes. It was her eyes that let me know she was human. Her eyes were the clearest blue I've ever seen. I wanted to stare at them, but didn't want a soulgaze. _

_She walked right up to me and without one word grabbed me by the collar and kissed me. There was nothing but bloodlust behind it. The complete opposite of anything I ever had with Katherine. She held me there, our tongues danced, or rather wrestled for control, and by god she was never going to let me have it. She forced me to the nearest wall and held me there. Damn this girl is either really strong, or I'm really desperate. _

_Eventually she broke the kiss and let go of me. She walked away as if nothing happened. She bent down, picked up her crossbow and disappeared in the darkness._

"That's it! That's the big story." Alice exclaimed, bringing me completely out of the story.

"Yes." I lied, "that's the whole story; there are a few more details, none of which are important." I forced a smile.

"C'mon, were done here." I said trying to stand. Alice, apparently, had another plan.

"Na-uh," she said shaking her head, "not yet, there's no place we need to be." She curled up even tighter in my arms. If I didn't know better I would have thought she fell asleep in my arms.

Soon I was drifting off to sleep. The first sleep I'd had in over twenty four hours. To say I was exhausted would be the understatement of the week. The stone wall was actually starting to feel comfortable like it was softening. I didn't care; soon I was in a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

~*~*~

I woke up sometime later, not sure how much, or where. The cold hard stone wall was replaced with something much softer. I squeezed my eyes open. I don't know where I was, but I wasn't in the lighthouse, that much I knew. The room was dark, but I could make out shelves, filled with books, CD's, movies.

"Where the hell am I?" I asked to the room around me. It may have come out more like, "mhrrmm mhmrm hmm I."

"My house, well my room." I heard the voice, I listened to the voice, and I could name the voice. But I couldn't find the voice.

"That was a bad idea, wizard plus electronics equal boom." I said slowly recovering from my lack of sleep hangover. My eyes were focusing. I slowly scanned the room, but I still couldn't find her.

"Silly wizard, I already thought of that." She said idly, "I took all of it out of here and brought you in through my window."

Bolting upright I said, "So help me god if you carried me bridal style again I'm…"

"You're going to what?" She said cutting me off.

"Okay you called my bluff." I admitted, "Just don't do it again, please." She stepped out of the darkness towards me.

"Deal. I won't do it…again." She sighed, sitting next to me, "on the condition that you tell me who this Lindsay is." I froze. She tensed.

"I said no more stories remember." I said looking down into her golden eyes. There was no way in hell I was going to tell Alice about her, "Besides it's a boring story." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders as I spoke. "My turn; why did you bring me back here?"

"Clearly to take advantage of you in your tired and weakened state." She laughed that sweet melodic laugh.

"When you want to give me the real reason I'm sitting right here, and I'm not going anywhere." I said bringing her closer to me.

"That was _my_ reason. But if you want to get technical I had a vision. Charlie called Bella from the station. Apparently there is a serial killer on the loose in Port Angeles and they're afraid that he might be coming down around here, so they called in all the locals. He didn't trust you and Bella alone so she suggested you two stay here."

"Great." I said with fake enthusiasm I get to sleep in a house full of insomniac vampires.

"Wait here, we made dinner for our two human guests." She said getting up and moving with human speed to the door. "I'll bring it up, five minutes tops." She said skipping out of the room. I haven't seen anyone skip in a long time.

Five minutes to snoop around. I know I shouldn't but I want to see if there's something here that might shed some light on the whole crazed Jasper scenario. I flicked on the light and was assaulted by sheer girlyness. I'm going to leave it at that. I don't need to mention the closet that was bigger than my old apartment filled with Italian or French sounding names, but nothing of real interest.

I found my way to the giant bookshelf pressed against one of the walls. I skimmed through the first couple of shelves, nothing out of the ordinary. A bunch of first editions of the classics: Romantic, Victorian, Elizabethan, Jacobean pretty much stopping at the beginning of the twentieth century; back when a first edition actually meant something. Further down the bookshelf was contemporary fiction, followed by nonfiction and text books. The bookshelf was perfectly organized, no doubt the product of one to many nights with nothing better to do, (or five free minutes.) They were perfectly sorted alphabetically by subject and arranged tallest to shortest. I still didn't see anything suspicious until…

I found _Advanced Newtonian Physics_ book sitting right next to _Cultural History of the Roman Republic. _One of these was definitely out of place. I pulled the first one out and thumbed through it. Lots of equations and Greek letters. Confusing, yes. Helpful, no. On to the next book in any event. The first thing I noticed was the book jacket was too small for the book, part of the blurb on the inside cover was showing. Now my interest is peaked. I opened it up and immediately recognized it.

I tore off the jacket confirming my suspicions. It was a copy of _**Vampyre**__._Older than mine by at least a century and it wasn't in English either, this was a French translation. The original was in Latin, if that makes a difference. I dove straight to the dhampir prophecy. I may not be able to read French, but I sure as hell could tell when part of a page is torn out from a six hundred year old book.

As if on cue Alice waltzed in carrying a tray of something that looked Italian. I closed the book keeping my finger in it to save my place. "Is this yours?" I asked it came out a little more accusatory than I intended.

"Is what mine?" She asked setting the tray down on an end table before coming over to me.

"This," I said showing her the book, "have you seen it before?"

"No I haven't. 'Vampyre' what's that mean." She asked running her fingers over the gold lettering on the cover.

"It's the old spelling of 'vampire,'" I said softly putting my hand on hers, "There's a piece missing." I opened it to the missing page, "It's a prophecy."

"What kind of prophecy?" She asked wide eyed.

"It's about something called a 'dhampir' and I think it concerns some friends of ours. If it was Jasper's it could explain a lot."

"Whoa, whoa wait a sec. Who are you talking about and what's a 'dam-pire?'" She sounded scared. She had good reason.

"I don't know exactly what a dhampir is but according to the prophecy it's a human vampire hybrid. Do we know two people one human, and vampire who are…let's just say 'romantically attached?'" A wave of horror washed over her angelic features, the realization was sinking in.

"Bella. Edward." She mouthed breathlessly, "Why? What was Jasper going to do before you killed him? All I saw was you killing him, there was no other option." Seeing someone as composed and poised as Alice babbling was more than slightly disturbing.

"If I guessed I would say that the dhampir is something that is destined to rid the world of vampires. It's normally how hybrids work. He knew Bella was the easier of the two targets and he knew it was a suicide mission." I tried to be reassuring, but I was failing miserably. I set the book down on the couch thing and pulled her close to me. She started to sob uncontrollably into my shirt, "Shh, shh, it's going to be alright. I don't think he did this by himself."

"What do you mean?" She said pulling away from my chest to look me in the eye.

"This book is nearly six _hundred_ years old. It's not something that you stumble across at a yard sale, and it's not something that's just hanging around an old bookstore. Someone gives you a book like this, or you find one when someone dies." I said as I continued to try the reassuring approach.

"Why?" She asked in desperation, "Why would he do it?"

For once I didn't have an answer. "I don't know," was the best thing I could come up with. "But I swear to you I will find out." I said emphasizing the last four words.

"I… I… I need to get out of here." She stammered. In a flash I was standing alone, in an empty room. The dinner long forgotten; I sank down onto the sofa.

"Was it right to tell her?" I wondered out loud. I felt like crying myself, it seems like I can't not hurt the people I care about. Maybe if I'm able to find the answer. To find out why. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe there was another reason.

"Yes it was." I turned to see Edward standing in the doorway; his voice, as always, was completely smooth. Those immortal guys have all the luck. "She needed to know what happened."

"I know I would have told her eventually." I stammered, more out loud then to him.

"Then she would have seen it. You made the right decision in acting impulsively." I knew he was right.

"I just wish that I had something. I feel helpless, I want to give her answers, and all I have is a theory." I said addressing him directly for the first time. "I'm worried that she's looking to see if what's mentioned in the prophecy will happen. I don't put much stock into prophecies, there a bunch of hocus pocus written close to nine hundred years ago. I don't want to her to get hurt, and I can't allow any humans," meaning Bella, "to be harmed."

"You know I'm not particularly fond of you, but it's not for the reason I told you." He took a calm even breath before he continued, "It's true that your thoughts are muddy, but Alice's are crystal clear. I heard everything she's thought about you, for weeks, maybe even months. She thought she was hiding them, and she was, but occasionally she would let certain things slip. On the day she found out her husband was killed I heard her repeat over and over again 'I love him, I love him.' That didn't sit well with me, mainly because I knew she was talking about someone else. I don't know much about magic, or the laws you have to follow, I thought you did do something to her head, it didn't make sense to me."

"You have to know that we don't just act like were a family, when I said my brothers and sisters, my father, and my mother I meant it." I wasn't going to tell him this but he was starting to ramble. "The point is she loves you and until right now I wasn't sure you loved her. Now I see that you do."

"You know Sparkles; you're a lot smarter than you look." I said in an attempt to lighten the mood. "So this prophecy thing, I think we have two options."

"I would say we have three." He came back quickly.

"Let me guess. The first option would involve you go away for forever right? Well that's not definite enough, there's too much chance of you coming back and fulfilling the prophecy. Or you try to leave, she convinces you for one little romp in the hay, she gets pregnant and raises your child to hate vampries. The way I see it there are two options." I reiterated. "Option one, Bella lives… forever. Or option two, one of you dies."

"By 'one of you' you mean me right?" I nodded a yes to his question, "I'm not thrilled with option one either."

"Neither am I. And speaking professionally I won't allow it to happen. Speaking as one who lost his love, I don't want to see what would happen to either of you have to live without the other. Love is a rare thing; true love is something that happens once in a lifetime. Twice if you're lucky. I'm not going to take it away, from either of you." Knowing that he had a soul, I avoided eye contact the entire time by focusing on the bridge of his knows. It's a trick you learn to pretend you're making eye contact even when you're not.

"You know, you're a better man than I gave you credit for." He said with less than a half chuckle.

"So is this our new bonding thing?" I asked. "We give each other backhanded compliments?" I didn't give him a chance to answer. "Now if you excuse me I haven't slept in thirty six hours, and I have a non-warlock that I have to catch in the morning." I said stretching out on the couch thing.

"Alright," he said getting the hint, "good luck tomorrow." He left at a normal speed turning off the light as he went.

One. Two. Three. Fo… "I'm back." Alice said as she flittered into the room from the window. "Did you miss me?" She said kicking her shoes off before lying next to me on this couch.

"Of course I did." I didn't ask what I was thinking; if she wanted to tell me she would.

I pulled her closer to me breathing in her scent. The more I was around her, the more comfortable I was.

"I'm sorry I ran off like that," she whispered, her breath tickling my ear. After, she put her head into the crook of my neck, "mmmm I love listening to your pulse, so calm, so even."

"It's okay, I know how hard it is for you." I said, sleep creeping into my voice.

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**A/N: You know the drill by now...Your muse decennds then you review.**

**After one review and another two PM's I thought I would make it clear that this is _NOT _the end of this story. All I meant earlier is that I've finished writting it, now it needs to be proofread and edited before being posted.  
**


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 20

The morning was especially bright, bright white clouds replaced the normal grey ones that I'd become accustomed to. The morning was made brighter with Alice standing over me another tray full of food in her delicate hands.

"Morning sunshine!" She said in a voice that was too cheery for the morning.

"Morning yourself." I said in a groggy voice, taking the tray. "Smells great." I said looking at the bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast. My stomach painfully reminded me that I didn't eat last night.

"Sounds like somebody's hungry." She giggled referring to my stomach, "Eat up we're leaving in ten minutes."

"Ten minutes!" I said choking on my breakfast. "Damn it, I need to get ready. Remember mystery person to catch?" I said standing up. I wasn't dressed I wasn't clean I didn't have any way to find the non-warlock.

"You're too easy." She choked out in between fits of laughter.

"Damn your quote sense of humor unquote." I said collapsing back on the couch thing. Note to self: find out the name of this thing. Better yet figure out the most appropriate way to sleep on it. I rolled my head from side to side trying to get the multitude of knots out of it.

"Besides," she continued as if I had said nothing, "There are some clean clothes behind you and I grabbed your soap shampoo and razor from Bella's. They're in my bathroom; first door on the left." I started to stand up again. I didn't make it very far; maybe halfway; before Alice pushed me down. I struggled to get up again, but Alice was too quick yet again. She straddled my hips and pushed my shoulders against the back rest. "I'll let you up if you answer a quick question." She said musically.

I nodded, "what's the question?" Is there any point in arguing in this position? There's no way I was going to win this fight.

"Why haven't you kissed me?" She asked in a low, husky voice; inches away from mine.

"That's not a simple question. And I don't have a simple answer." I asked moving my face to meet hers. Our lips were less than an inch apart. It was as close as I could get.

"Tell me." She demanded in a voice filled with something I couldn't quite identify, pain maybe.

"This isn't the time, or the place," I started my voice shaky, "I want to tell you, but more than anything, more than everything I _want_ to kiss you. Please let me leave it at that for now." She shook her head, slowly. Her eyes were darker now, dark amber color. "If it means that much to you." My lips were still dangerously close to hers I could smell her sweet, sweet breath. I gulped before continuing, "Certain vampires have venom, that's more addictive than heroin, mixed with nicotine, mixed with crack. During the war, I was bitten…" I stopped mid sentence. I didn't care anymore, I couldn't resist. I kissed her. Passionately. Hungrily. With complete abandon.

She didn't resist, not for a moment. She melted into me, but I pulled her closer; tangling my hands in her silky spikes of hair. Alice finally broke the kiss after what seemed like days. "Don't think that kiss means you don't have to finish the explanation." She said with a cheeky grin. She gave another quick peck before disappearing out of the door in a blur.

It took me a moment to get my body working again. My breakfast was by now quite cold, but I ate it anyway, and it was delicious! I picked up the change of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

It took me a few tries to find the bathroom. I made one wrong turn and ended up in a bowling alley, or a library. I always mix those two places up. Eventually I found my way to the bathroom. It was every bit as feminine as the bedroom. I turned on the water to extra, super hot. When I stepped into the shower I was glad that I had my own soap and shampoo.

There was a good solid three shelves worth of stuff (for lack of a better words.) Most of this 'stuff' I couldn't identify. If I was forced to wash with it, I would more than likely wash my hair with foot scrub, and the rest of me with moisturizer. Quick question: why does someone with a supernatural beauty actually need all this…this…stuff?

Showers are the one place that thinking random thoughts comes as natural as breathing. Today's topic: what do I do with the mystery person when I catch him slash her? I suppose I could go for the total dramatic package; cryptic instructions, dark meeting place, candles, fire, lightning, ominous threats. The basic wizard package. Or there's the more subdued approach; normal conversation, cryptic threats, understanding, compassion. Boring, but effective.

I kept running through the options as I shut off the water. The bathroom had turned itself into a sauna. That water must have been really hot. It showed, I looked like a steamed lobster, but hot water is too big a miracle to turn down. I dressed quickly, in the clothes Alice had given me. It was only after I put them on that I realized that they weren't mine. They were too nice and way too expensive for my taste and my wallet. But they were clean, which is more than I could say for the entirety of my 'wardrobe'.

I padded over to the sink and wiped some of the fog away from the mirror. It was the first good look I got of myself since Arizona. In all my time in California I avoided mirrors like the plague. I hated what I saw. Now there was a difference, it was like I was taking a journey back towards the sun. There was life in my face, real life. It was in my eyes that I noticed a difference. They'd moved away from the icy grey that I was used to, and back to the deep blue of my former life. Love is a great and powerful thing.

I quickly brushed my teeth and exited the bathroom, followed by a plume of steam. I was ready. Ready to face the hell of school again; more importantly I was ready to face my potential warlock.

"Ready to go?" Alice asked, appearing out of nowhere.

"Sure," I said taking her hand. She gave me a quizzical look, "it's the little things in life." I said answering the unasked question.

"So you're making this official?" She asked without any hint of suggestion.

"What do you think?" I said before her into me with my free hand. I pressed my lips against hers, slowly, softly, but with every bit of passion as the first kiss. It wasn't long before our tongues were exploring the depths of the others' mouths. I loved the way her lips felt. A perfect paradox; hard as stone and yet as soft as silk; cold as ice and yet burning with passion.

"I'll take that as yes." She said in a breathy whisper when we finally broke the kiss. I just gave her a wry smile.

"Now I get to ask a question." I said pulling her along. "When did you first see me? In your visions I mean."

"Let me think." She started slowly, "six weeks, three days, seven hours, thirty two minutes, and fifty-two…fifty-three seconds." She finished so quickly I could barely make it out.

"What's that in date and time form?" I asked playfully, pulling her closer to me.

"December fifth, eleven thirty-eight P.M." She said matter of factly. "All I saw at first was someone in a dark cloak walking through the forest."

"Holy shit!" I exclaimed, "That's the same night I first had a dream about you." I told her about my dream. In painful detail. Hell, I had six weeks' worth of it to remember.

She stopped suddenly when we got to the staircase. "I almost forgot; we're going out the window. Can't have Mr. Wizard blowing things up; now can we." She said pulling me back towards her room.

I followed her lead, "You're not carrying me." I reminded her.

"You can't jump down three stories, silly." She said playfully jabbing me in the ribs.

"Fine then, you jump, I'll climb down the ladder." I said in my mediator voice.

"What ladder?" She asked.

"The ladder you're going to bring to the window so that I can climb down. I don't care where the ladder comes from." I chided.

"Why do you insist on arguing with me, you know I'm going to win? I can see the future remember, and I saw you giving in." She said doing her fake psychic impersonation.

"I disagree. I think you're just trying to convince me to agree with you. You know I'm not going to give in. Silly vampire, I have a much stronger will than you do!" I teased.

"Fine, fine, you win." She said finally giving in, "there's already a ladder window." She finished as we got back to her room. "I'll meet you in the garage." She gave me a quick peck before doing an unnecessarily flashy dive out of the window.

I walked over to the newly furnished ladder and started down at a normal human pace. Except that I hooked the arches of my shoes around the outside of the ladder and slid down fireman style. Cheesy yes, but I HATE heights, and ladders; but mainly heights and ladders.

"Impressive," Alice said as I hit the ground with a soft thud, "did you learn that in wizard school?"

"Alas no." I said in fake lament, "one of the many useful things I picked up in Arizona." I said as she took my hand, interlacing her fingers in mine. Apparently we were the only ones left. The garage was completely empty, save for the Porsche. Damn it.

"Don't worry I did my best to wizard proof it. Or well Rose did." She said sensing my worry.

"I hope it works." I said cheerily.

"It better, 'cause now I can't roll down the windows." She said unlocking the car. I squeezed in. The car may be nice, but I sure as hell can barely fit into it. I settled in, knees up to my chin. Twice as bad as the first time. "Forgetting something?" Alice asked plopping my messenger bag down on diminished la, eliciting an 'umph' from me. "Oh and your homework is in there." I shot her dirty look, "What? I had some extra time." She said trying to act innocent.

"Thanks, that's one more thing I don't have to worry about." I replied.

"Oh, that's right, there's that whole warlock thing right." She gasped, "I almost forgot." She added sarcastically, "I mean it's not like you mentioned it thirty or forty times in your sleep last night."

"Have you seen who it is?" I asked as she turned the car on, put it into gear, and peeled out of the driveway. Damn these fast moving types. She can do three separate things in the time it takes me to get out six words.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. It's still a bit hazy." She said in a disappointed tone. "Do you know how you're going to figure it out yet?"

"Yes, the building and room numbers we wrote down are a safety net. I put in a magical dye pack. I should be able to sense whoever got covered in the dye." I said smugly.

"Good luck then." She said giving me a quick kiss, "I'll see you at lunch." She left the car at normal human speed.

Holy shit! We were at school already. I took a big breath, inhaling Alice's scent, before slinging my bag over my right shoulder and getting out.

"English, English, English" I repeated over and over in my head. Trying to will myself into character. It was a giant pain. I was sick of this shit.

I kept my senses extended all morning. I got nothing. I did turn in the homework Alice had done for me. Hey, I'm not too proud; besides does it really mean anything, I've got the same piece of paper this school gives you. By the time lunch finally rolled around I was ready to kill myself again. Two days back in high school and I was already suicidal. "I'm not sure I can keep this up." I murmured when I saw Alice coming toward me from the other side of the cafeteria carrying a tray full of food she had no intention of eating.

"I feel the same way sometimes." She said sitting next to me at the same table as we had on Monday. I could feel the stairs immediately. "Anything yet?" She asked in a low voice.

"I'm getting something," I said taking another bite of my apple, "There are too many people for me to tell exactly who it's coming from though. All I know is that it's coming from that table." I said gesturing to a table in the middle of the cafeteria, where everyone was trying their damnedest to pretend they _weren't_ staring at up.

"You mean the table where Bella is sitting right now?" She asked showing concern.

I nodded a few times.

"Why aren't you doing something?" She asked urgently.

"Alice, I understand that she's your friend, but every person in this room is under my protection. I'm not going to do anything to put _anyone_ in danger." She looked at me with extreme concern. "Nothing will happen to Bella, or anyone else at that table, this school, or this town." I don't blame Alice for being concerned; she doesn't quite understand my entire world. It's safer for her and her family that way. I don't care how damn invincible they seem, there are plenty of things that would tear them apart without getting winded.

"Okay." She squeaked, giving in. "Don't let anything happen to her, or it won't just be me coming after you." She said, her eyes flaring in anger. Her voice was still low enough that no one noticed what she said in the noisy cafeteria.

"I won't, I'll figure out who it is by the end of the day." I said stroking her hand, trying to reassure her.

As I finished talking one of the girls at the center table stood up and walked towards the exit. I could feel the magic dye go with her. I knew exactly who it was. Well I didn't have a name, the only thing I really had is that she had a mess of curly brown hair, and eyes a piercing shade of blue that I'd only seen once before; and so I don't risk losing my 'guy status' I am duty bound to comment on her (oh god) banging D's. There I said it! I get to keep my guy status.

"Who just left the table?" I asked her trying to get a name. I was taking the chance that Alice knew everyone here; or at least that one girl.

"Who? Jessica Stane…" she stopped when the realization hit. After it sank in her eyes glazed over. She was having a vision. I tensed up. Something bad was about to happen. "She's who you're looking for, and she just decided to ditch the rest of the day."

"Duty calls, love." I said letting go of her hand and hurried out of the Cafeteria.

I got up from the table and followed her out of the room. I managed to keep my distance from her until we were out in the gravel student lot. The crunch of gravel under my feet was too loud; she knew she had been followed.

"What do you want?" She spat as she turned to face me, "oh, it's you. You're Aaron right?" She asked switching her tone from angry to her own brand of flirtatious, but she completely avoided eye contact.

"We need to talk." I said in a stern voice, dropping the accent.

"What do you mean? Wait, what happened to your accent?" She asked frantically, trying to act as innocent as possible.

"You know what I mean. I know you can feel me, just like I can feel you." I said trying to dance around the 'w' word and definitely the 'm' word. I closed the distance between us in two steps and grabbed her by the shoulders. "But of course if you don't believe me you could look me in the eye and we'll pretend like nothing happened." She recoiled when I mentioned looking in her eyes. She's soul gazed someone before, by the look on her face it probably didn't turn out too well.

"I don't know what you mean." She stammered fighting back tears.

"Yes you do," I said with a softer voice. She wasn't a danger, she came into her power, and she was scared. "Your cell phone, your computer they aren't working well anymore. In fact no complicated electronics are. You made the mistake of looking into someone's eyes and you don't know what you saw." I saw the fear in her face swirling with realization that she wasn't alone.

"What do you want from me?" She begged.

"I want to help you; I want to help you before you do something stupid and get yourself killed." I said releasing her from my grip. She relaxed a little, the tension left her shoulders, and her breathing was more even. "Let's go someplace more private, and I'll try and answer all of your questions."

"My car's right over here." She said fumbling with her keys to unlock her door. She slid in the driver's seat and reached over to unlock the passenger door. "Where are we going?" She asked with nerves still in her voice.

"Where ever you feel safe." I answered placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I should introduce myself, I'm Aaron Marsdon. You're Jessica right?" She nodded meekly putting the car into gear and slowly pulling out of the gravel lot. "I'm sure you have plenty of questions about what's going on right. Questions you can't ask anyone because they're about things that don't really exist. Am I right?"

"Yes." She answered timidly. "What's wrong with me?" She said as a tear streaked down her face. She pulled off the road a little less than a mile away from school.

"Nothing is wrong with you. What you have is a rare gift. You can do things most people think only happens in books and movies." I was starting to sound like the wizard who came to me. He was a lot more practiced than I was.

"What kind of gift." She asked looking for validation that she wasn't crazy.

"In a word, magic," she breathed a sigh of relief when I said the 'm' word, "When did you first realize something was different about you?"

"When I was like fifteen. I started being able to like know what people were going to say before they like said it, same thing with things too, like I saw this bowel fall last night like before it actually fell." She was really starting to 'like' get on my 'like nerves. "My friends thought I could read minds. Then I started being able to get things to come to me without touching them. They just appear in my hand, ya know?"

"Wow, when I said you have a rare gift, you have two with no training. The first, called clairvoyance, you know things are going to happen a few seconds you don't see them as visions, you just know." She nodded at my explanation, "the second is called transatrugy it's the ability to move things to you by just thinking."

"It's good to like know what's like finally going on. I was scared; I didn't like know what the fuck was going on for like three years. I've like tried to stop it but I can't." She said drying her tears with her sleeve.

"Here," I said reaching into my inside coat pocket, "take this," I said handing her a string of beads on a thin black thread, "whenever you feel your power getting stronger. Pull this out hold the top of it and try and move the beads one at a time to the top." She reluctantly took it.

"Something else I need to tell you," I said before she could interrupt, "there are rules for magic users. Only seven of them but if you break them you someone will throw a black bag over your head and cut it off."

"Geez, that's a little, like, dramatic." She said interrupting me.

"I know, but I need to warn you, whether you know it or not you were getting close to breaking one of them. There are only four you need to worry about for right now. Don't kill, don't read minds, don't try mind control, and no raising the dead. If you've done any of those let me know now so I can help."

"I tried reading your mind on Monday, I think." She admitted.

"Fortunately for you wizards don't have punishments for attempted crimes." I said smiling, trying to lighten the mood. It didn't work.

"What's going to happen now?" She asked.

"Well, you have a couple of options. You can either turn away from your gift, or _we_ can find someone to teach you. Take as much time as you need. I'll be at school until the end of the year. Just let me know."

"I want to… ya know…like keep them." She said before I even had time to grab the handle of the car.

"Okay. I don't think you'll regret it. I wouldn't want to live without magic." I told her honestly.

"Will you be the one teaching me?" She asked hiding a blush.

I burst out in an earnest laugh, "God no, I'll help, but we need to find you someone a little more experienced than I am. As far as magic goes I'm just a novice" I said avoiding the obvious flirtation. After all I had a girlfriend now.

A look of obvious disappointment crept onto her brow, "oh."

"I promise it won't be a creepy old guy. I actually have someone in mind." I said trying to placate her.

"Who?" She asked excitedly.

"One of the few wizards I trust. She's in Portland I think. Her name is Alicia Harris; I think the two of you will get along."

"Wizard?" She said apprehensively.

"That's what I am, what you could be. It's just a word that's been used for, I dunno, three thousand-ish years." I explained.

"Okay," she said releasing a deep breath. "You said that you'd, like, answer any question right?" I nodded, "I have to know: what are the Cullens'? 'Cause I know that there not humans. They can't be."

"They're not. But I won't give up someone's secret. Just like I won't tell anyone what we just talked about." I said as I reached for the door handle. I got out of the car and turned back towards the school. If I hurried I should make it back by the end of lunch. I have to attempt to keep up the façade people in a small town have a tendency to talk, a lot. Talk ends up getting people hurt.

Jessica's car stayed by the side of the road for a while. At least until I was well out of the line of sight. I heard the engine turn over a few moments later. I didn't see the car when I got back to the gravel lot. I can't say I blamed the girl. It was a lot to take in; especially in only one day.

This way at least she could get her feet wet first before being pushed in to the deep end.

I got back to the school proper just in time to hear the lunch bell ring. Occasionally I do have good timing, not often – but it does happen. Alice was standing at the mouth to the school holding my messenger bag. "I'm glad it went well." She said with a small, musical laugh.

"Better than I expected, I guess." I admitted, "She took it better than I did. Of course she didn't almost kill a store full of people."

"C'mon we're going to be late to English." She said thrusting my bag into my chest. Wait 'we'!

"What do you mean by 'we'?" I asked trying to keep up with her.

"I had my schedule changed at lunch to match yours." She said like it should make perfect sense.

"It's a good thing I already like you." I said, "Or I would find this very creepy." I said opening the door for her. At least seeing Alice all day would make school go down a lot easier this time.

It worked the end of the day passed by so quick I had to take a double take to make sure. Rumors were flying around like it was high school. Oh wait… it is. The rumor was that Jasper had run off to find his biological parents or some other bullshit, and that Alice had taken a liking to me. I didn't pay any attention. Truth is far more exciting than fiction when it comes to me.

"I don't know how you do it." I sighed as I shut the door to her Porsche, "I'm barely making it through one repeat."

"Ya but you have a job and real things to do. When we go to school, that's our way of pretending to be human, pretending to be normal." Alice told me. "Besides it _is_ fun to be the beautiful people everyone is jealous of."

"You're right. I didn't think of it like that." Alice put the car in gear and headed out the parking lot at a normal human speed. It didn't take long before she was flying down the roads at speeds normally reserved for supersonic jets. I didn't realize that, even with the way she drives that we would ever be the last ones anywhere. Turns out I was wrong.

We were the last one back to Castle Cullen. As much as I'm beginning to like these quote people unquote, I needed some alone time. I never thought that I would say that again after all I've been through these past few years.

Maybe I just needed to take a break from all my warden stuff. After all there's no problem that can't wake a week or two. That'll give me time to reconsider my standing with the world. "I think I'll take your advice." I said unfolding myself from her car. "I'm going to do the normal human thing for at least a week." I said slinging my bag over my shoulder.

"It doesn't look like the world is going to end if you do." She said leaning into me. "Trust me, I know these things." I started to walk around back to the hopefully still awaiting ladder. "Where are you going?" She said ushering me towards the garage door, "Esme spent the entire day making sure that the house was safe for you."

"You mean safe from me." I corrected. "Electronics don't bite me, I bite them."

"You know what I mean." She joked, "She felt bad that you had to stay locked up in my room."

We walked through the door, and were greeted by an intense rant coming from some other room. "C'mon, my boyfriend is a vampire, my best friend is a werewolf, and now Jessica's a wizard. Am I the only one in Forks who's just a normal person?"

"I'm glad I don't have to deal with that." I whispered into Alice's hair.

"Me too." She giggled back.

The two of us walked hand in hand into the living room. The same room where Bella's rant continued on. "There's nothing wrong with being a human." Edward said trying to placate her.

"Nothing? Nothing! Why does everyone around me get to be something special? But I don't!" Oh god this was going to get ugly

"It's okay Bells" Alice said suddenly appearing by Bella's side, "Just remember what I told you." Apparently those were the magic words. Bella relaxed immediately. So this is what it's like to be a regular human. Regular drama. No one dying, no mystical problems. Just plain old relationship headaches. I'm just going to pretend replace the word vampire with rich, werewolf, with really hairy, and wizard with bitch; and normal, with normal. I quietly chuckled to myself as I sat down in an armchair.

Edward looked over at me and gave me a slight nod. Apparently he approved of my new found mantra. One week of normalcy. Just what I needed.

With the current crisis adverted Alice curled up next to me, in the overly large arm chair.

"You know this normal thing is beginning to work for me." I said putting my arm around her shoulders.

**A/N: I only have one thing to say about the current direction of this story…Everything happens for a reason. Trust me, I speak the truth.**

**As always, should your muse descend feel free to drop me a review or a PM, anonymous or signed I don't care.**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: In about two chapters things are going to start moving surprisingly fast until the end of the story...Until then these aren't the most exciting chapters they really start to get the momentum up for the end. Anyway Read and enjoy. And as always if your muse descends drop me a review or PM, and if it doesn't tell a friend about this story.**

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Chapter 20

The rest of the week passed just that easily. I used absolutely no magic. I even managed to avoid talking about it until Friday after school. Jessica had had a few problems with that beads I gave her. I was surprised that it took her that long to destroy it. I went through three of those in one day. "How many did you manage to keep up?" I asked. When I ran into her coming out of the gym

"Only two." She admitted.

"It took me a week and a half to keep one up." I admitted keeping with my accent, prying ears and all that. I've never had as much fine control as I would like. "Just to let you know I've left a message with Alicia."

"Okay. Here's my number," she said scribbling it down a piece of notebook paper, "let me know what she says."

"Of course, and here's hers just in case." I replied folding the paper and putting it in my pocket before handing her one of my own.

I turned and started heading towards the parking lot. Jessica followed me making inane small talk about school and life; those things that I was dealing with this week. The normal things.

Until she saw Alice waiting for me at the opening of the parking lot. Then the real question came. Only about as subtle as a typical teenager could pull off

"So what's with, like, you and the Cullen girl?" Right on cue Alice danced over and did what all jealous girls do. She marked her territory. Ya like I would choose Jessica over my newly found angelic demon. Some people have overblown egos.

She grabbed my hand and started to pull me, with human strength, towards the empty parking lot. "C'mon I told you I had a surprise."

I followed along knowing full well if I didn't I would regret it. Since I started this normal kick, Alice has been having fun getting clothes overnighted to her and playing dress up with me. Bella was extremely happy that Alice Had found a new life sized doll to.

"Figures," was all I heard Jessica say as I was dragged off into oblivion.

"Okay, okay. I want to know what this surprise you've been holding over my head for the past two days is." I said when we were out of Jessica's earshot. I did not like that girl. She was like nails on a chalkboard to me.

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise." she said attempting to stop me from digging.

"If it involves shopping, I am one hundred percent out!" I informed her.

"Relax," she said rubbing my arm, "it's a good surprise I promise." She stood on her toes gave me a quick kiss. We were, of course, still in full view of Jessica, naturally.

"Am I detecting some jealousy here?" I asked her as we got to her car.

"Edward made the mistake of telling me that she has a huge crush on you. I know, I know it's petty." She said starting the car. "One rule, no asking where we're going or when we're getting there."

"Things have a habit of doing that when I save their lives." I told her, ignoring the condition of the surprise.

"Things? You mean not just girls, or people? Do tell." She asked looking at me.

"Including Jessica, that makes four girls, one guy, two dogs, a cat, and one mother wanted me to marry her daughter on the spot. The daughter was nine." That was the unfortunate truth.

"hmmm," was all she could manage, "what kind of dogs?"

"Strays, I didn't know them on a first name basis." I told her.

The needle was pushing close to one sixty. Looking at her she was as relaxed as someone doing twenty-five. Not that I'm complaining it turned the scenery into one giant green blur. I noted that we were going south along highway one-oh-one. Of course that was the only highway in or out of Forks.

I stretched out as best I could in the cramped car. "You do know that the seat moves back right." Alice said noting my discomfort, "There's a slider on the right, push it back." It was a miracle, the cramped car suddenly opened up.

"Did you have a midget riding up her last?" I said as I waited for the seat to move back.

"No, just Bella. Edward was sitting behind her, so she wanted to make sure he had enough room."

"That's not weird at all." I said at the lame story.

"For those two it's not. They take teenage romance to an entirely new level." She said laughing. That laugh was the one thing I never got used too, it was too musical, making my heart jump every time. "I was surprised that Bella could stand to be separated from him for that long. It's been that way ever since…"

"Hungry?" She asked stripping gears in order to change the conversation.

"I suppose," I answered a long second after my stomach.

"Good cause that's part one of the surprise." She said.

"Eating is part one of this surprise?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, you never seem to think about eating like a normal person so I decided to think about it for you." She said that like it should answer all of my questions.

"Ok, so part one's dinner? When do I get to learn what part two is?" I asked.

"After dinner, of course."

"Naturally." I agreed as I settled back into the leather seat, knowing that I couldn't argue with Alice's 'logic'. After a short time the blur of green faded. We were leaving Washington. I settled further into this beautifully engineered piece of heaven. I think a nap is in order. I let out a big yawn, before slipping into a light peaceful sleep.

No dreams just sleep, something I could get used to. Generally my dreams aren't peaceful, only one I can actually remember. After a while I felt Alice's small cold hand gently rub my shoulder. "Aaaaaron, it's time to wake up." She sang gently.

"I'm awake," I mumbled sleepily moving closer to her.

"We're here." She said again gently, "Wake! Up!" She screamed as she shook me viscously.

"Okay!" I snapped sitting up, "Where are we?"

"I dunno." She said with a smirk. "But we _are_ here. Let's go!" Good god she was impatient.

"Okay," I mumbled opening my door. Even with my coat on the night was rather cold. I buttoned it up quickly. Without the continuous blanket of clouds over head the night was cold. "Would you at least tell me what city we're in?" I said gesturing to the obvious city around us. Street lights, highway, lots of cars, stop lights, big shopping center surrounded by busy streets. It looked to be just after sunset. Goose bumps crept down my back. The lights, the sounds, the people, all felt like Arizona. I shivered at the thought

"Fine, fine," she said giving in, "We're in Portland."

"Ok. Lead on." I said moving around to her side of the car. I took her hand as she locked the car and dropped the keys into her purse. "I take it we're going to dinner, or I'm going to dinner. I'm not sure the right pronoun to use."

"'We' is good." She said folding into me. "This place is supposed to be really good. But who am I judge people food."

"It's okay, you're cute, and I'm not picky." I said wrapping my arm around her waist.

She walked us up to a very nice restaurant; the kind of nice that would cost me an entire month's salary. I knew if it was my surprise I wouldn't be paying so I had to cushion my male ego another way. I held the door open for her. She looked up and smiled at me.

She gently eased her way through a small group of people and finally approached the host. An undistinguished man in his early thirties, wearing a decent black dinner jacket and matching black pants. "Good evening," he said in a pompous tone that made me want to set his shoes on fire. "Can I help you?"

"Brandon, reservation for two." She said in cheery tone about the time I was able to get through the crowd.

He looked at his log book, or whatever it's called, "I have you right here miss." He said crossing something out in the book. "Please follow me." He never dropped that pretentious tone.

I held up my hand and started to mutter a few words. Alice's hand was up to mine almost instantly interlacing her fingers in mine, causing my little trick to fizzle. She shot me a scowl. I guess she saw what would happen if I set his shoes on fire.

We followed him through the packed restaurant. Eventually he showed us to a booth in the corner. He sat us and took our drink order. Alice politely declined, I started with water. "Of course." He said snidely walking away.

"Are you sure I can't set his shoes on fire," I whispered picking up the menu.

"Yes." She said stern face that soon melted into a soft giggle. "Trip him instead."

"I like the way you think." I said waiting for him to come back. I studied the menu for a while. Of course there were no prices on it, it was that expensive. "How much did you have to bribe that guy to get us in?" I asked in the same low voice.

"I didn't, I just happened to know when someone was going to cancel. Then I called five seconds later." She said smiling.

"You and your sixth sense." I said smiling back.

"Good evening," a new voice said, "My name is Katelynn, and I will be your waitress this evening we have a barbeque pork shoulder with braised greens and coffee served with a chilled mango salad. Are you ready to order now or should I come back?"

"I think we are," Alice said just as I started to speak. "I'd like the citrus baked sea bass." She said socking me. I guess this was just a fancier (more expensive) version of lunch.

"And for, sir?" She asked turning to me. She was maybe twenty-five, five six maybe. Not at all attractive, and her voice sounded like two cats fighting; but she was polite and she seemed good at her job. I could tell she was getting slightly nervous, being around the two of us. Had I not know better, I would have thought that it was just Alice's beauty intimidating her.

"I will have the venison loin with the celery root puree please."

"Of course," she said, "Anything else to drink."

"I'm fine," I said beating Alice to the punch.

"I'd like some water as well." Alice chirped.

"I'll be right back with the water." Our waitress said before excusing herself rather quickly.

"What does food taste like to you?" I asked, "I know that it tastes almost normal to White Courters, and that red and black courts find it disgusting." Apparently I ramble sometimes.

"It would be like you eating dirt. It doesn't taste good, but it doesn't taste disgusting. Why do you ask?" She answered.

"Just curious." I told her, "I want to learn more about you. I've told you a lot about me. But you haven't told me much about yourself."

"What do you want to know?" She asked, "About me." She added seeing that I was going to make some smart ass comment.

"Let's start with the basics, when were you born, both times?" I asked.

"1901," she answered, "Then again in 1920, my real name was Mary Alice Brandon. I don't know much about my life as a human." Apparently she foresaw all of my questions and put them in a monologue. "All I know is that my family committed me to a, umm, mental institution."

"I'm sorry," was all I could manage.

"That was a long time ago; it's probably good that I don't remember. Our food is almost here." I could see a single tear welling up in her eye, but she blinked it away.

"Well it seems like all I thought I knew about your family was wrong." I replied. Wow I really just said family and it didn't feel weird about it.

"What do you mean?" She asked as our waitress set our food down in front of us.

I murmured a thank you as the waitress set my venison down. "Before I came up to Forks I asked my boss what he knew about the area. He said that there were eight of you, that you were over one hundred and fifteen, plus some other stuff that I don't really remember."

"Silly wizards." She said as she started moving her food around with her fork. "The host is about to seat a party of six to your right." She added, never looking up.

I turned my head and sure enough there he was. I kept my hand low and whispered "Frozare." A little invisible arc of kinetic force leapt from my hand. It found his left ankle just before he pushed off. He fell flat on his face flailing his arms as he went down. I turned back to my food. Alice was trying to stifle a laugh with a fork full of food.

The rest of dinner was quiet. I tried to finish quickly so she wouldn't have to wait for me. When the check came Alice paid cash. Of course she would know exactly how much to bring.

"Ready for part two?" She asked, sliding out of the booth. I nodded, doing the same. "All I'll tell you for right now it involves more driving."

I hung my head, "you really like your surprises." I said ushering her into the cold night.

"Yes and I promise you: you're going to love it." She said linking her arm through mine.

"Cold?" I asked pulling her closer to me.

"Always," she said with a laugh.

"I think I can fix that, when we get wherever you're dragging me off to." I said as she unlocked the car.

"What do you mean?" She said pulling away from me to get in the car. "Oh I see," she giggled.

"Of course there wouldn't be any surprising you," I said opening my door. "I'm actually cold," I said reaching for the heater, "lemme guess you disconnected it to wizard proof the car right."

She nodded starting the car. We were off at a normal speed, until we were well out of the city. The lights from the city slowly faded behind us once we hit the highway. The traffic wasn't bad for being seven o'clock on a Friday night. We kept heading south.

"I have a feeling that we're going to California." I told her, when we passed the sign leaving Eugene.

"You're right. But 'where in California' is the real question." She said cryptically. "I'll give you a hint. It has to do with what you say in your sleep."

"I didn't even know I talked in my sleep. Stars." A smile spread across my face. That's the real thing I'd missed for the past couple of months. I got used to looking at them when I was in Arizona. The sun stopped mattering to me a long time ago. It was the stars I missed. "Where going to the beach aren't we."

"Yup," she squealed, "That's part two and three."

"Now I'm excited." I admitted.

"Oh, and you weren't before?" She chided. "Am I really that bad?"

"Bad no, unpredictable yes. I can't see the future like you can, that's why I was nervous, silly vampire."

"Okay, but since I have you as a captive audience, I want to know who this Lindsay is. You've mentioned her name twice in your sleep. Once on Wednesday and once today."

Oh god. I cringed at the thought, I didn't even want to think about Lindsay, let alone talk about her. "Alice, I wasn't completely honest with you." I hesitated; drawing in a ragged breath, "I didn't tell you half of the Arizona story. To be completely honest, I never wanted to. Things happened in Phoenix, things that I don't even want to remember, let alone tell anyone. The worst of which was Lindsay." I spat her name coarsely.

"I'll give you the version I can tell you and still live with myself afterwards." I waited for her to agree to it.

She took her hand off the gear shift and placed it on my knee. "Please, I promise I won't be mad." I put my hand on hers and squeezed.

I took another ragged breath, "What I did tell you was true. But it wasn't enough." I stopped for a moment trying to decide on the right words to use, "when I got back to my hotel room she was waiting for me there. We talked for a while. She was a normal girl whose parents were killed by vampires. She started fighting them on her own when she was sixteen. At least that's what she told me, I'm not sure how much I believe it."

"She came across like a wounded puppy, and I've always liked playing the hero…and this time wasn't an exception. She told me she didn't have place to say, so of course I volunteered to let her stay with me."

"This is the part I want to gloss over. I'll tell you someday, maybe someday soon; but not today. If that's alright." I looked at her pleading. She didn't say anything. "Long story short. She was nothing but a giant whore I had the misfortune of sharing my bed with." Tears welled up in my eyes. Blinking them away I searched her face for any answers.

A heavy silence fell in the car. The only sound was the soft hum of the Porsche's engine. She made no attempt to pull her hand away. "I can't believe you thought that would bother me." She said finally breaking the silence, "We've both done things that we aren't proud of." Her voice was strangely comforting.

"Can we forget about the past for now?" I asked gently stroking the back of her hand. "This is the first real vacation I've had in…five, no six years. Let's just enjoy the weekend shall we."

"Let's shall!" She said relieving the tension with a sharp high pitched squeal. "We're almost there anyway."

"Where's there exactly?" I asked hoping for a real answer this time.

"A nice little spot on the beach just past the California border. Where there just happens some unseasonably warm weather with plenty of sunshine."

"Wouldn't the sunshine make things difficult for you? Of course not because you've already thought of that." I quickly corrected myself.

"Yup, not another soul for the entire weekend." She said with a mischievous smile. "Just warm sunny days and clear cool nights." She finished in a voice that reminded me of travel ad.

"If it's that good step on it." She took me seriously. She pushed down the gas pedal even harder. The needle inched past one fifty, then one sixty, one seventy, one eighty, before comfortably resting at one eight-five. "Now that's more like it. How fast will this thing go?" I asked as an afterthought.

"Dunno, I've never gone above one fifty before." She said not taking her eyes off the road. "We should be there in under a half an hour."

"You don't have anything more specific?" I asked pushing her shoulder playfully.

"Twenty six minutes thirteen seconds." She responded instantly, "I'm trying to be more conversational with my visions."

"It's not working." I told her plainly.

The next twenty six minutes and thirteen seconds passed peacefully. It was a completely comfortable silence. Silence scares most people; the fact is it's easier to lie when you're speaking. It's silence that will give you away. I like it, not many people do.

Right on cue Alice pulled off the main road and navigated the Porsche seamlessly through the inky black. Another few minutes and she parked the car onto a nice sandy beach.

"We're here!" Alice exclaimed with a grand gesture. Cutting the engine, she reached into the back seat and came back a moment later with a square package. "Take this, set it up. I'm going to get some wood, be back soon."

She disappeared from the car into the woods near the beach; leaving me in the darkness. Well I had the stars and the waning moon. I stepped out of the car. The air had a chill to it, but it wasn't as cold as Forks, or even Portland. I stared at the package for a moment, letting my eyes adjust completely.

It wasn't really a package; it was a tarp wrapped neatly into a square with four small stakes wrapped in the middle. I made my way to a nice flat stretch of beach and spread the tarp out. It didn't take any real effort to anchor the stakes into the sandy beach around me.

Alice returned a minute later carrying a comical amount of firewood. She was moving around the front of the tarp in a blur setting up a massive fire. "Easy there, no need to set the beach on fire." She stopped instantly, revealing a perfect teepee of wood. "You've never built a fire before have you?"

She smiled and shook her head. The way the moonlight danced on her skin should be illegal. "I've only seen them in movies."

"Her let me show you." I took some of the smaller sticks out of the middle of the pile, collapsing it. "Here's how to make a fire that won't burn the world down." I started setting up a small teepee fire. I lay a few of the smaller sticks in a small triangle shape. Like I said a teepee fire is just that shape, incredibly simple and incredibly effective.

Alice watched intent and puzzled by my actions. When I do things like build fires or make circles I am slow, I am methodical, and I am perfect. I find the motions relaxing so I admit to doing them slowly.

I pulled back looking at my work, looked good enough. I focused my will some whispering "spark a dark, where's my sire, will I stay me, will I lay me, bless this camp with fire." The spell was unnecessarily long, but it was from one of my favorite books, I used it every time I needed to light something larger than a candle. The interior of the teepee caught fire immediately with no hesitation; soon the beach was bathed in the soft orange light.

It was beautiful, the ocean, the sky, the stars, and Alice. I'd almost forgotten that there was real beauty still left in the world. I wished the moment would never end. God, how many times had I thought that before? I silently cursed myself.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked wrapping a blanket around my shoulders.

"Nothing." I lied staring at the orange flames in front of me. How can I tell her just how much I've been thinking about Katherine? I couldn't, the answer was simple as that.

"Don't lie to me; you should see the scowl on your face." She said gently tracing her finger around my mouth. My apparent scowl melted immediately into an uncontrolled smile, "See that wasn't too hard."

"Sorry, I just forgot how much beauty there is after seeing so much ugliness for so long." It was roughly the truth, I hated the idea of keeping secrets with this beauteous creature; but how could I tell her?

"Mmmm, there's something more I can feel it." She said probing farther into the intricate maze that was my mind. Maybe sharing it with her would help.

"I don't know if you ever see into people's pasts." I started, never taking my eyes off the dancing fire. "If you could then you would know that this is a very close recreation of a trip I took with Katherine. I remember sitting with her on the beach just like this, the stars, the water. I guess I can't believe I'm sitting here with you, thinking about Katherine." I felt a few tears starting down the corners of my eyes. Must be from the smoke.

"I don't normally see what was in a person's past; only once, actually. I thought it would be a nice surprise." She said, guilt charging her voice. She was absolutely right it should be a nice surprise, and it was, the only problem is what's going on in my twisted head.

There was silence for quite some time. The only noise was the crackle of the fire and the gently roar of the ocean ahead of us. I could feel the tears streaming down my face and I made no effort to get rid of them. I just stared at the fire, and all too often I would catch a glimpse of Katherine's face in the dancing flames.

I tried to speak so many times, each time though I would only get as far as opening my mouth before a mixture of fear and guilt washed over me. I knew better than to hide anything for Alice, after all she might not be able to read minds, but she could see a few seconds into the future and know what I was going to say. Still I should at least say something.

"It is; a nice surprise I mean." I said still absolutely intent on the fire. "The problem isn't that you brought me here, it's that I'm here with you and all I can think about is Katherine. I mean I'm staring into this fire and I can still see her face." I reached up and wiped a few tears out of my eyes, never once moving my head.

"That's not a problem, it's a good thing. I know I will never replace Katherine." I didn't look at her face but I could tell there was soft smile on her face, "at least not completely. You miss her and to some extent you always will. I know that." Her voice was soft and comforting.

"And you? You haven't said anything about Jasper since we went to Aberdeen." Though the tears were still streaming down my face I kept it far enough out of my voice so that it was something close to even.

"It still hurts, but all I had to do was turn a blind eye. You had to kill her. It's a pain I can only come close to imagining." She said sliding closer to me.

"No, you know it. It's the same pain, the same wound, psychicly speaking." I said drying my tears with my sleeve.

"I may know it, but that doesn't mean it's as bad as yours." She said as I leaned my head on top of hers.

I was glad she was there. Maybe these old wounds would finally heal. I wouldn't have to just put band-aid after band-aid on top of them. Maybe there was some higher order that put us both together at this moment. I've always believed in a god, maybe not the Christian God, but a god none the less. And now I'm starting to believe in fate, if Jasper was out to kill Bella, and he succeeded, he would be dead, Alice would still be in pain, and there would be no one to help her, no one to understand her loss. Edward would be to beside himself with depression and probably kill himself.

I was the necessary piece to this puzzle. With me there, only one had to die, the one left in pain found the only person whose pain could match her own. It was amazing just how much our lives are like spider webs.

"I think I'm going to sleep now," I said when the fire started to die down. The tiny sliver of moon was now well up in the sky, the stars danced across the ocean in front of me. It was sheer beauty, completely eclipsing the memory of the scene on Lake Michigan. This magic, this beauty belonged to Alice and me now!

"Good night. Tomorrow will be sunny and warm." My little seer said in her best weatherman…err…weatherwoman voice.

I found the sleeping bag Alice had laid out for me; I kicked off my shoes and climbed in. It was cold at first, like everything else in my life, but it soon warmed up. There wasn't a pillow but that wasn't a problem, this ground was more comfortable than most of the beds I've slept on in my life.

"Do you want me to stay?" Alice asked sweetly.

"Do you really have to ask?" I said unzipping the sleeping bag to let her in.

"I've been told it's polite to ask." Alice said slipping out of her shoes. She crawled in and I wrapped my arms around her waist. The sleeping bag wasn't really large enough of two people to sleep in it comfortably, but it was enough for a person and a pixie. Side note: pixies don't really exist.

"Good night," I whispered into her ear, placing a soft kiss on her neck.

"See you in the morning," she mumbled her voice thick with fake sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: This is my longest chapter so far (6,000ish words) I don't know exactly how good it is, I think that's for you all to decide. Well without anything else – Read and Enjoy.**

Chapter 21

Another night, another dream.

_I was asleep on the beach; the sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, casting brilliant orange light across the ocean. The sun hitting my back was warm and comfortable. Slowly waking up I pulled Alice closer to me, only she wasn't there. She must have been hunting or something. I shifted in my sleeping bag going back to sleep._

_It wasn't long before there were soft footsteps crunching along the beach. I shifted again enjoying the warm comforting sleep. The steps grew closer, if Alice was bringing me breakfast; she was going to get a big reward. The steps crept along the tarp, until they stopped completely._

_A cold hand softly rubbed my shoulder. "good morning," a sweet voice chimed, "did you sleep well?" The voice completed the perfect morning. Just like Alice said 'sunny and warm'_

"_Alice," I smiled not bothering to open my eyes. I gently brushed her hand with mine. This morning could only get better with pancakes._

_Then the sun disappeared, leaving a muted grey light in its wake. A cold north wind picked up as soon as the clouds rolled in. Even in the safety of my sleeping the cold wind seeped into every part of my body. The hand on my shoulder clamped down, I could hear my bones protesting under the extreme pressure. _

"_How dare you call me by the name of that…Whore!" Katherine? Where the hell was I? It didn't look like Lake Michigan. Katherine shouldn't be here. I broke free of her grasp and crawled backwards out of the sleeping bag. _

_She was wearing the last thing I ever saw her in, the day I killed her. A flowing silver dress matching the shade of her hair, perfectly. Her eyes were glazed over, completely white. She loomed over me, her hair whipping around in the wind; she looked terrifying. I tried standing, but the wind pushed me down before I could get my feet under me. I didn't have any way to fight back. _

"_You will never forget me, not now, or a hundred years from now. No matter what!" She shouted the wind gusted for a moment before dying out. "And there is nothing your little bloodsucking whore can do about it." She spat with every ounce of venom she could muster. _

_Anger began boiling inside of me. She has every right to hate me for what I've done to her but she was not going to drag Alice into this ugliness. I shot to my feet ignoring the wind around me it pushed against me trying to throw back down. Even without a focus I could call up enough raw power to end this. "I love you, Katherine. But this is over."_

_Katherine's face softened, the wind died down to barely a breeze. "Aaron, take me back. I'm tired of being cold, help me." She begged me, I wanted to agree, but I couldn't. Faeries cannot lie, but that doesn't stop them from trying to trick and manipulate everyone and everything around them._

"_I'm sorry, I can't." I said bringing my hand up, the magic surged through my hand and fingertips leaving a slight tingling sensation. "I think this is goodbye." I said as coldly as I could. _

"_Levitas!" I shouted. The clouds and forests around me seemed to darken as a bolt of lightning left my hand. The flash was blinding, but it was over in an instant, save the roar of thunder. Peace settled down along the beach, the wind was all but gone, the sun was back._

_Katherine was gone, no body, no trace, no scorch marks; she was just gone._

"Aaron." A new voice called.

_I dropped to my knees, crying. Why dear god why did I have to kill her again._

"Aaron, wake up, it's me." The voice came back, but not strong enough for to break out of my dream.

_Katherine was gone, now and forever, my love, my light, my angel. I love you Katherine I always will._

"Katherine," I said without realizing I was awake. The sun was just coming over the green tree tops. The remnants of a fire still smoked gently.

"No, just me." Alice said standing over me carrying none other than a plate of pancakes.

"I'm sorry," I said sitting up; I ran my hands through my hair. "Bad dream," was the best explanation I could give. Alice handed me the plastic to go box along with a fork and knife.

"Want to talk about it?" She asked sitting beside me looking at me with her tarnished gold eyes.

I nodded pouring syrup on my pancakes. I started relating the events of my dream to her while I ate. My dad used to say, 'heavy conversation and food don't mix.' It was one of many pieces of advice of his that I neglected. She never took her eyes off me, like a statue that nodded at appropriate times.

I finished both the pancakes and the story at roughly the same time. When I finished she wrapped her arms around me and pulled me closer. "I knew it was bad, I heard you scream three miles away. Are you okay?" She said pulling me closer.

"Ya, I think." I said noticing for the first time that she was sparkling in the sunlight. On Edward it looks kind of creepy, on Alice it was unbelievably beautiful, like a million small diamonds dancing at night.

The memory of the dream started to slowly fade, leaving just a vague memory of the horror that unfolded in my head. After a few minutes the only thing in my mind was the beauty of Alice in daylight.

This was about the best morning I had in years. In about ten minutes it will be the best morning of my life. Alice and I just sat on the beach all morning, neither of us speaking; we both just sat watching the ocean. The waves were calming, regular, rhythmic; they were order in a life of chaos.

"I'm sorry but we have to cut this getaway short." Alice said looking apologetically. I guess that's part of dating a seer.

"What did you see?" I asked still staring out at the ocean. If it was incredibly urgent I think she would have grabbed and ran.

"I didn't have a vision; I grabbed a newspaper when I picked up the pancakes. I don't think it's something right up your alley." She said holding out a small front page clipping from the Redding Record Searchlight:

"**Fifth Body Found: Work of a Serial Killer says FBI"**

**(AP)—The fifth body in what the FBI is now calling the 'Ice pick killer' has been found near the Green River. Authorities have been reluctant so far to give any information to the media so far. The identity of the fifth body has not been confirmed at this time. But sources within the FBI have alleged that the latest victim to be Lieutenant Cliff Evens, 43. A fourteen year veteran of the Seattle Police Department Evens was reported missing three days ago. He was last seen leaving SPD headquarters after his shift late Thursday night. The authorities have been reluctant to make any comment on the work of this killer fearing panic that the Seattle area hasn't felt since the Green River Killer.**

**Police have confirmed that the Ice Pick Killer, or IPK, is responsible for four other deaths in Seattle and Tacoma. It is believed that the IPK is responsible for at least seven other deaths in Seattle, Tacoma, and Port Angeles; a port town approximately ninety miles west of Seattle.**

**According to a joint statement given by SPD and the FBI each of the victims were "blitzed" and stabbed four times in the neck with an ice pick. The FBI has denied allegations that six other open missing persons cases are in any way related to the IPK. At this time all witnesses are urged to come forward with any information that would lead to the arrest of the IPK.**

**The four other victims were all missing for five days before their bodies were discovered, so far that is the only evidence that the fifth victim is not Lt. Evens.**

Below the article was a color photo, showing a diagram of one of the wounds. There were four, perfect puncture wounds, each approximately four inches deep, according to the diagram; and arranged in a trapezoidal pattern.

Shit! Shit! Shit! "Damn it," I shouted crushing the newspaper in my hands. Here comes the real world to destroy the little slice of happiness I found. My hands were shaking in anger. It was my fault, I should have acted sooner. I should have done my job, gone to Seattle, investigated. There is no way in hell that those people were killed by a human with an ice pick. These murders were committed by at least one Red Court Vampire. "Wonder-fucking-full!"

This wasn't going to end well, the Red Court picks off innocent people, in order to get the White Council to respond with force. Then they would claim that we violated the ceasefire agreement and reignite the war.

"It's worse than it looks isn't it?" Alice asked after reading all of the obvious signs. "There trying to make an army aren't they?"

Shit, it's even worse than I just thought. They were making an army. The dead bodies were rejects; people who refused to make their first kill. "I think so. We need to get back now." I said slamming my feet in my shoes. This was going to be bad. I needed to prepare, and I'm going to need some serious backup. Some powerful and quiet backup.

I started rolling the sleeping bag up looking around at the other things in our makeshift camp. "Just leave it." Alice said standing up. "Hop on; the Porsche is three and a half miles way."

I silently cursed myself; at least I have the option this time. I sighed before jumping on her back piggy back style. We were gone in a blur, it's a good thing absolutely no one was around; I would have had to kill them.

It would have taken me at least ten times longer at a dead sprint to make it to the car. These are the times when I'm absolutely thrilled that my girlfriend is a vampire with extremely inhuman speed. I hopped in the passenger door and slammed my seat belt home. Alice started the car, putting it into gear and started driving back to Washington.

"We should make it back home before four this afternoon." Alice said turning to me, completely taking her eyes off the road. She couldn't really open the car up on the back roads, the best she could do was eighty-five. Once we hit Interstate-Five she completely floored it. The needle zoomed past one hundred, one ten, one twenty, on thirty, one forty, one fifty, one sixty, one seventy, one seventy-five, before resting comfortably at one eighty.

The look on her face was priceless, I almost expected her to stick her tongue out in concentration. She kept one eye on the road and one seemingly in her visions looking for cops, traffic, and road closures.

I didn't dare say anything; we were going way too fast for light conversations. This vacation turned out to be a complete bust. I think about Katherine all last night and this morning we have to run out to chase murdering vampires. I was rather hoping for a romantic weekend away after getting completely shanghaied into going.

Okay, four hours to come up with a plan. I can't go it alone, if Alice is right, and they are making an army, it would be suicide to go to Seattle by myself. Whoever was creating this vampire army had at least six. In all likelihood there are more, only six were actually missed, the others were probably runaways, homeless, junkies, prostitutes, all the people who aren't reported missing very often. I could probably get Harry to come out West; I could ask Captain Luccio for a favor, she may be willing to help; if Ramirez had been acting normal the last time I talked to him I would ask for his help.

I just need to do this without letting the majority of the Council know what was going on. I suppose that there's a family of vampires that can help, I'm sure Alice would be willing and I know how persuasive she could be. If everyone agreed we would have three maybe four wizards, plus six vampires. There are nine or ten, maybe eleven if Harry's vampiric half brother Thomas comes. Is that enough? Where could I get some other muscle if I needed? There was Kinkaid, but he's a mercenary that doesn't come cheap.

I can worry about man power later. Where was the best place to fight them? If I go to Seattle then I have the benefit of corners, alleys, narrow streets, and hiding places. Of course I don't know the layout and there are a lot more innocents that would get mixed up. If we fight around Forks, they have more angles of attack, more space to feign retreats, split the group up, and pick us off. Of course we would have to figure out a way to lure them to us if we try to fight closer to Forks. Either way we have the advantage, we have a seer, an empath, and the White Council's tactician. They have one or two experienced fighters, and a bunch of fresh vampires who don't know what the hell they're doing.

Red Court newborns aren't necessarily stronger, or faster, than an older vampire, but they are one hundred percent expendable. I'm surprised that there haven't been more people turned yet. It's only a matter of time before they attract a lot of attention. If something isn't done within the next two weeks Seattle and most of Washington will turn into a giant battlefield. That means a lot of bodies, both good guys and bad, but mainly people that have no way to defend themselves.

I leaned back against the leather head rest, resting my eyes. I had to let my mind do the work, I couldn't think anymore; it was becoming counterproductive to think. I needed to just allow all the possibilities to work themselves out. I'm able to do this through an extremely and magical process known as, 'sleeping.' I started falling asleep when it hit me.

Blood! Blood! It was as simple as spelling it out in big red letters. I'm going to fight it out in Seattle. We are going to fight it out in Seattle. All we have to do to gain the upper hand is salt the area with blood. Then they wouldn't be able to use our scents, all they could smell would be the blood. We would have the advantage, they wouldn't be able to see or smell the Cullens. I have seen the Red Court in battle, there faster than people, but there not faster than the Rose Court. This might be easy; but since nothing is ever easy…

It's a good plan, but it's too double edged. Blood would have the exact same effect on the Cullens. They too would be distracted by the smell of blood, and if they weren't too distracted then they wouldn't be able to use their sense of smell. How much do they rely on their sense of smell? Can they fight without it?

I suppose for now it doesn't matter. I have a plan in the works, it may not be great, but it is the best I can do without real planning. Damn it, I'm much better with tactics once I'm in battle, strategy and I haven't always gotten along.

"Are we almost there?" I asked still concentrating on all the problems that were coming towards me like a tank.

"Silly, I told you ten minutes ago we were." Alice said playfully. Damn, we either made good time, or I dozed off, maybe both.

Checklist: one, call Harry; two; call Captain Luccio; two-a request local maps of Faerie; three, call Ramirez, see if he's back to normal; four, figure out a plan before the other wizards get there, five; get a final plan; six, fight them.

That shouldn't be too hard. That's going to be my mantra for the next two weeks. The power of positive thinking, right? Of course I had to convince at least one high ranking wizard to fight alongside vampires, instead of just fighting vampires. I don't think I'm going to be sleeping much for a while.

The soft hum of the car's engine stopped. I guess Alice did a good job wizard proofing her car. I was still expecting the car to suddenly burst into flames or something cool like that.

"We're here!" She announced like it was something absolutely miraculous. I opened the door, careful to not hit the red convertible we parked next to. I slowly made my way to the door to the house. I took a couple of deep breaths, setting up my game face.

Alice led us straight into the dining room where the rest of the family was sitting around the dining table that was covered in newspaper clippings, a large map of Washington, and a smaller map of just Seattle. Stuck in the maps were a ton of tiny needles, in various colors. The tension in the room was palpable, only Carlisle and the stuck up bitch were sitting, everyone else was standing around, still as statues; the only movement in the entire room was Bella pacing around the large table. Edward was sitting off in the corner with a blank stare on his face.

"I can see we're late," I said stating the obvious and announcing our presence. "What do we know?"

"Not much," Carlisle began not taking his attention off the map, looking for some pattern to appear. "The green pins are missing persons, the yellow are the last place murder victims were seen alive, and red are where the bodies of the IPK where found, blue are bodies matching the MO of the IPK." There were over twenty green pins, combined with five yellow and red, and ten blue. I still studied the map; most of the pins were concentrated in Seattle and Tacoma. Then there was an anomaly, three lonely pins in Port Angeles.

"I'm sure that that you know by now that the IPK and the missing persons are the work of vampires." All eyes turned on me like I had just said the dumbest thing in the world. Mainly because I did. "How much do any of you know about Red Court Vampires? That's what we're dealing with."

No one volunteered to answer the question. Silence answered another question. "Vampires of the Red Court are not people once they make their first kill. They turn into a giant bat creature with four inch canines and a mess of nasty venom. They look human because they hide behind a flesh mask. They are incredibly strong, and heal incredibly quickly."

"How do we kill them?" Slabs asked turning his attention to me.

"Cut their head off or cut their stomach open. The reason they heal so fast, is because of the reserve of human blood they have in their stomach. Once they lose it their dead, and not many things can live without a head." I said to the room more than to him.

"We're not dealing with your Red Court," Edward said from his perch in the corner, "there are also vampires like us." He had a dejected look on his face, Bella stopped her pacing and went to him. I think that was the longest I'd seen those two in the same room so far apart.

"He's right," Esme said still standing over Carlisle's shoulder, "The people that haven't been linked to the IPK have bite wounds on their necks."

Of fucking course! I couldn't just have to worry about a death squad of Red Court running around. There had to be another group of Rose Court running around too.

"Someone needs to fill me in on what it is your kind can do? I know how to deal with that many Red Court, but I've only known about your kind for two weeks." I said trying to adapt my strategy on the fly.

"You mean Alice hasn't told you everything." The stuck up bitch snipped.

"No _she_ hasn't." Alice said coldly. "But I'm going to now. Our kind the condensed version, we have super speed, strength, we don't sleep, we only feed on blood, and the only real way to kill our kind is to tear us apart and burn the pieces. Happy Rose." Alice said taking the seat next to her father (I'm getting good at this family thing.)

"Okay do we know if their linked or are the fighting each other?" I asked trying to gather all the facts.

"We don't know." Carlisle said, "It is possible that this is a war between the two Courts." He sounded unsteady as if wondering whether he used the term 'courts' correctly

"The Red Court has some powerful influence in Seattle, it's the main port for their west coast smuggling operation. If the Rose Court is trying to move in it could lead to a war." I explained taking a seat at the opposite end table looking over some of the other newspaper clippings, trying to find something they missed.

"Rose Court?" Rosalie asked for once without at trace of bitterness.

"It's my nickname for your kind. The other vampire species are broken up into political factions," I explained using my hands to make my point, "there are three factions, the White Court, The Red Court, and the Black Court. I've explained the Red Court to you, the White Court feeds off of human emotion, and the Black Court are the kind out of Dracula. Rose Court is a nickname the few wizards who know about your kind. I'm one of about four people who use it. But that's beside the point." I went back to the newspapers scattered about the table. Outside of the fifth body, none of them were anything out of the ordinary, a housewife, a banker, a college student, and a tourist.

Occasionally vampires of the Red Court will turn people high up some place to get access to big companies, government, or police. Outside of Lt. Evens there isn't anyone here who fits the bill.

There's a connection between these attacks in Seattle and what's been happening around here. "Dr. Cullen, I need to speak with you in private." I said figuring out the connection. This is definitely not good.

"Yes, of course follow me Warden." He said getting up from the table.

"I'm only a warden when I wear the grey cloak. Any other time I'm just Aaron." I replied following him out of the room.

"In that case I'm only Dr. Cullen when I wear the white coat." He led me through a twisting maze of a house, past the bowling alley, the basketball court, the movie theater, three flights of stairs, and a partridge in a pair tree. We finally made it too a room that looked somewhat familiar, it was where I called Harry the first day I met these lovely vampires.

"I have a theory." I said searching for the right words and the right tone. I was shooting for confidant, but it came out more nervous. "I think this is all connected. What happened with Jasper, Victoria attacking two days later, and now with what's going on in the City."

"How is it all connected? Everything seems like a series of unfortunate, but random events." He said taking a seat at a large and ornate wooden desk. He gestured for me to sit in another chair, I politely declined. I think better on my feet.

"It's a long story," I prefaced "so bear with me."

"On my first night here I couldn't sleep, it's not new problem, but that's neither here nor there." I wasn't off to a very good start I have a terrible tendency to ramble when I'm trying to piece things together. "Anyway, I started to read from a book called 'Vampyre.' I ran across a passage, less than ten lines long, it was a prophecy about something called the dhampir. I don't know what that is, but I think it's a half human half vampire."

"It didn't mean a thing at first, but the longer I'm here the more I think that the prophecy is referring to Edward and Bella. Normally I take prophecies as serious as I take horoscopes, but this one is different. It doesn't mention either of them by name, but it does mention: 'the cold one who hears what shouldn't be heard.' Open to interpretation, of course, but thoughts are one thing that shouldn't be heard. The next morning I was attacked by Jasper less than a mile from Bella's home, I think he was on his way there. I don't know why yet, but I did find the same book in his room missing the prophecy."

This was actually coming across somewhat intelligent even with my excited ramblings. I was slowly wearing a tread in the carpet with my constant pacing, "Then Victoria tries to attack Bella the very next day. One attempt on your life in a week is bad luck, two is something bigger. I think that someone is trying to keep the Dhampir from being born. I think that this army, is the third attempt, if assassination doesn't work they are going to try overkill."

"That's an interesting theory." He said quietly when I finished. "I'm not sure though."

"If only you could see it from my perspective. It's as clear as it could be. I can see it; I just need to prove it." I said continuing to pace around the room. "I just had to tell someone rational about all of this."

"I don't doubt your conviction, but there needs to be proof." He said coolly.

Proof, proof; I need proof, how can I get proof that someone is trying to kill Bella to stop a mythical birth. Then it hit me like a bad prop comic hitting a watermelon. Someone's been trying to kill Bella for years. I overheard something when I first got her; she said that she had terrible luck, that she was clumsy or something. I didn't quite remember, but the luck part. There's only one thing I know that tries to hurt people using bad luck: an Entropy Curse.

An entropy curse is literally killing someone with bad luck. If the spell is powerful and immediate, then it will kill someone in a bizarre way. I've seen Harry use one that caused a frozen butterball turkey to fall out of the sky (presumably from a plane) and hit some poor idiot square in the head.

A less immediate version tries to kill people over a long time with a series of unfortunate accidents, tripping down a flight of stairs, a blowout on a winding road in a rainstorm, a car skidding out of control. There are a hundred different things that a low energy entropy curse can do.

"I think I can prove it. You just won't have a way of seeing the proof." I said not facing him. "I think someone's been trying to kill Bella since she was born."

"What do you mean; I won't be able to see the evidence?" He asked looking a bit confused.

I spent the next five minutes explaining the workings of an entropy curse, and how there is a good chance that she is affected by one.

"There must be people that just have bad luck, or are clumsy." He said, perfectly rational.

"Of course your right. Some people are just unlucky, but how many people are named in a prophecy that a whole lot of creatures want to stop." I replied, "If you still doubt me bring Bella and Edward up here, I'll use my third eye on Bella, Edward will make sure I tell the truth." I finally stopped pacing around the room and took a seat across the room.

"Is the process invasive? I don't know much about a wizard's sight." He said casually drumming his fingers on his desk.

"Only in the same way looking at a person is invasive, it's not as invasive as a soulgaze. She won't know what's going on." I explained briefly, letting my eyes wander over to the clock on the wall; it was closing in on six. I'd been talking with Carlisle for close to an hour and I haven't made any real progress.

He didn't respond, instead he stood up, walked to the door, he opened the door and in the same tone he'd just been talking to me he said "Edward, could you bring Bella up here please." He turned back to me and casually said, "Don't worry the room is completely sound proof. No one heard a word of our conversation."

A second later there was a soft knock at the door. The door opened slowly and Edward and Bella came in. Bella looked slightly confused by this, but of course Edward knew exactly what's going. He just wasn't sure what it all meant.

"Okay, here's the deal." I said before taking a deep breath and explaining an even more condensed version of what I spent an hour telling just Carlisle. I explained everything I could about the attacks, the army or armies, the prophecy, the curse. I told them absolutely everything as quickly and efficiently as I could. They both needed to know exactly what the prophecy, I told Edward only a small piece earlier. Neither of them tried to interrupt during the entire speech, which was definitely a good thing. "There is absolutely everything," I finished, with an exasperated sigh.

"So unless there are any questions I think it's best we figure out if Bella is cursed in a completely literal sense." I quickly added.

"What do I have to do?" Bella asked timidly. What the hell was it with everyone? I never thought that magic was really that complicated. I just told her that I was going to look at her with my magic glasses. If that wasn't enough I told her I looked around her room with my sight.

"You are going to sit right here, I'm going to do the rest." I said trying not to sound too sarcastic, but I added a big cheesy smile and equally exaggerated thumbs up. I motioned to the chair right next to mine.

She quietly nodded, sitting in the chair. I rose quietly and faced her. Carlisle sat back casually observing me like an anthropologist observing the kinship and marriage practices of a rainforest based tribal society. Thank you Discovery Channel. Edward was visibly uncomfortable, if he could read my thoughts he would know that I was completely intent on seeing an entropy curse. I'd never seen one before; I only knew that a curse of this kind was theoretically possible.

"Don't worry this isn't going to hurt." I reassured her. I closed my eyes focusing on the space between my eyes. There was the familiar pinching sensation between my eyes. I opened my eyes the familiar bright blue overlay. I started slowly trying to avoid seeing anything that would haunt me for the rest of my life, I have enough of that.

I noticed two things at first: first an old wound above her heart (something I'm completely familiar with,) the other thing was that she was completely normal (psychically speaking.) Every person has a different psychic image; the image is a reflection of their psyche. With Bella though there was no difference. None. None! It makes absolutely no sense.

It took a while before I saw anything else. Not because it wasn't there, but because I had no idea what I was looking for.

"I found it," I said mostly to myself. Wrapped all the way around her was something that resembled a thin gold chain, so thin that I couldn't really see it at all. It was too ornately carved to be the work of any mortal. This chain was the visual manifestation of the curse, the size was a clear indicator of the kind of power, and the ornateness of the carvings was a sign of longevity – I think.

There was no way for me to tell just how long the chain had been wrapped around her, it could have been, days, weeks, months, years, or it could have been her entire life. "I need a pair of forceps and wire cutters…" they were both in my hand before I could finish, "I think."

I know that if I can see it, I can remove it. The only problem is a spell this serious and complex is more than likely going to be booby trapped. If it is booby trapped there should be some warning sign. I moved pieces of the chain around gently, seeing if the trigger was obvious. I opened my mouth to speak again holding out my left hand and a magnifying glass appeared in it before I could make a sound, "Thanks," I muttered trying to make it seem like that was my plan all along.

The carvings around the chain were even more ornate than I thought. The links were about half an inch long and in the shape of miniature dragons in flight, why I don't know, but they are.

"It's now or never," I mumbled gripping one dragon link with the forceps. I took a long deep breath, trying to calm myself. I gently snipped the chain where two links met, holding my breath. If something went wrong, I was going to be splattered across the room one way or another.

Click. Nothing happened. I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was going to live at least a little bit longer. Snip, click. Still nothing, I was getting more confident. Snip, click, again. Snip, click. Snip, click. I had to stop, if something went wrong now I wouldn't be able to cast a counter spell.

I shut my third eye looking around the room, Alice had joined the others standing still as stone. "This is going to take a while." I said to all three of them in general.

"How can we help?" Sparkles asked never taking his eyes off of a clearly shaken Bella.

"Umm, it would be easier if she was lying down; the chain is tangled all around her. It's going to take hours for me to remove it all." I said not really answering his question.

He went to Bella and picked her up and carried her, bridal style, out of the room. I slumped down on one of the chairs rubbing my eyes and forehead. Using my third eye for long periods of time creates one hell of a headache.

"You okay?" Alice asked sitting next to me gently rubbing my shoulder.

"Tired." I replied leaning my head on her shoulders as best as I could. I wanted nothing more than to sleep right now. Not long, just until my headache went away.

"You can either finish with Bella now, or go back down to the war room." She said sternly. She was right, but I still didn't move.

"If I stand up right now, I'm more than likely going to throw up." I lied trying to buy myself some extra time.

"No you're not. Now stand up." She commanded; anyone would be lucky to have a friend like Alice.

"Okay, let me get something to eat and I'll start trying to decurse Bella." I said standing up.

**A/N: You know the new drill by now…If your muse descends drop me a review, if it doesn't tell a friend.**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N Here's the next installment of Blurred Lines. I don't have anything to say so read, enjoy, and maybe drop me a line**

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Chapter 22

"Are you sure there is nothing I can do." Edward said for the hundredth time this hour. It was close to ten o'clock, and I'd been working on this mess of psychic chain for three and a half hours. My hands were stiff, my head hurt, and to say I was pissed off would be the understatement to end all understatements.

"Yes, I'm sure." I snapped back wiping my forehead off with the back of my hand. I wasn't taking any chances with this chain; I was snipping individual links off, one at a time. That meant examining each link for anything unusual before cutting it off and laying it neatly in the pocket of my enchanted over coat.

I set the forceps down and closed my sight. Bella managed to lie completely still on the massive bed; Edward next to her the entire time, bugging the hell out me. I leaned back in the rolling computer chair grabbing another half of a sandwich Alice made of me. Turkey club extra bacon, it was piece of culinary heaven on Earth.

I let a heavy sigh and took a massive bite. If I couldn't sleep I could at least eat something. "How are you doing?" I asked in between bites.

"Bored." She answered in a frustrated voice, still staring at the ceiling.

"It shouldn't take much longer," I said putting the sandwich back on the plate. I took a deep breath opening my sight again, letting the headache back into my life. I grabbed the forceps and the wire cutters and went back to work. Examine, snip, and remove. That was the process I was involved with for going on four hours.

I was making a lot of progress. I had started where the chain crisscrossed around her waist. I'd worked down one leg and back up the other. Doing it this way was probably easier since I didn't have to actually untangle the chain. It was still a nightmare, at this rate it would take at least another four hours. I was afraid to go any faster; it would increase the chance that I would be splattered across the giant plate glass window. I guess it was her safety too, but mainly mine; I won't lie.

I worked for another two hours straight. The pain in my head increased exponentially and Sparkles wasn't making my life any easier with his constant offers to help, and I couldn't even look at him for fear that he might be some disgusting nightmare of a monster that would incapacitate me for another two hours. If I needed his help wouldn't I just think it?

I shut closed my third eye as the clock was striking midnight. I needed another break. I finished off the sandwich and tried closing my eyes for a while. Of course all I could see tiny gold dragons. That's something I would never forget, literally. I don't get to see much beauty with my Sight, about all I have is a memory of Katherine. I should probably not call up that visual while around Mr. Mindreader.

I finished removing the chain from the legs, lower abdomen, and arms. That left the upper torso, and head. All the areas that are going to make this uncomfortable, well more uncomfortable.

I opened up the Wizards Sight, hopefully for the last time this year. The pounding in my head was somehow worse. I shouldn't be able to focus, but the threat Alice made when she dropped off the sandwich made me focus. I continued this completely mundane task. With all the experience I was getting with this spell I deemed it safe to start cutting two at a time. I just doubled the inspecting time. It wasn't going much faster, but some was better than none.

I must have zoned out somewhere in this process. Because the next thing I knew it was one thirty A.M. and I was done removing the chain. I scanned up and down her body looking for anything I may have missed. I finished back where I started. That means, hopefully, I removed the entire curse (I hope.) With luck (pun intended) Bella wouldn't be having anymore bad luck.

"I'm done." I announced standing up from the confines of my chair. I was expecting a round of applause or something. Instead all I got was the sound of Bella lightly snoring and a look from Sparkles that said 'get out' in bold letters.

I get no respect, I thought as I left them alone in the bed room. I made my way through the more familiar maze back to the dining room slash war room. Everything and everyone were in the same place they were when I left. They all focused on me as I entered the room.

I pretended to lower a surgical mask and nodded slowly. The only person who seemed to find it funny was Slabs. His booming laugh was cut off by Ice Queen putting a fist in his gut. Finally someone who gets me. "Bella is fine and hopefully curse free, the quote surgery unquote was a success." I announced. "Any more information down here?"

Alice was standing over the map holding a handful of orange pins. Great another color. "Not much. Orange pins are places where they will likely get another victim." She explained.

"So we're at square one point five." I said rubbing the small of her back. "We should concentrate here, for now." I said pointing to Port Angeles. "It has absolutely everything Seattle and Tacoma have."

"Good idea," Carlisle said from his place at the head of the table.

"We need to do this my way. I'm calling in some back up of my own. I need to keep my end small though; the Red Court will do anything to start up the war again. What kind of numbers can you guys get?" I said shifting to my authoritative voice.

"There's the seven – six of us." Alice said looking like someone just stuck a knife in her chest as Rosalie spoke. "Do you think Tanya would be willing to help?"

"I've already thought of that. She's not going to help. She's going to say that it's not her fight." Alice must have already seen it.

"Wonderful, with my two or three, and your six we have nine or ten." I sighed leaning back, "That may be enough. I've seen worse odds, hell I've won with worse odds." Once I would like to be in a fight where the odds were on my side. I let out a large yawn turning my attention back to the map.

"Go get some sleep." Alice said sitting on my lap, "You look exhausted." She curled up into my arms. I'm not entirely sure that she wasn't that she was trying to get me to leave.

"Sleep is for winners." I said picking up some of the other newspaper articles. There still wasn't any real connection between the victims, any of them. Black, white, rich, poor, single, married, young, old; none of the victims were from the same neighborhood. That's it, they have nothing in common, that's the link; they were trying to keep people from making the connection.

"I got it!" I shouted before explaining the brilliant connection I just made.

"We figured that a while ago, so what." The bitch queen shot back. I still didn't like her.

"So, it means that there still trying to be covert. If there were out just building an army they wouldn't care where the conscripts came from. They're building a hit squad not an army. They're trying to be discreet. It's like when a kid tries to sneak dessert before dinner, the kid gets caught because he's not making the right kind of noise." I was rather impressed by my metaphor with the kid and the cookie. "Hell, they may have started the rumors about the IPK to cover their tracks, the work of one serial killer seems better than a whole bunch of random killings." Of course they weren't betting on a new warden in an area that hasn't had one in almost thirty years.

"Round one goes to Aaron Marsdon, the rookie from the mid-west." Alice said in a mock announcer voice. "Okay you win, now go to bed." I still didn't move, I was this close to connecting all the pieces, I'd be damned if someone made me sleep now.

"Please." She whispered softly into my ear; placing a soft kiss on my neck.

A man can only take so much, "okay, fine," I said giving into her. It was only a matter of time before she completely eroded my will anyway. She led me by the hand upstairs.

I groaned on the inside. The random little things we do for love. Back up the three flights of stairs past the recording studio, the ballroom, and the conservatory, before actually making it back to her room.

"Okay, now close your eyes." She told me. I reluctantly agreed, placing my hand over loosely over my eyes. I shifted my weight a few times before I heard the door latch click open and the light turn on. "Follow my voice."

I did like she said getting more and more board with this game. "How much longer are we going to be playing this game?" I groaned.

"I think this was part six of the surprise." I was getting really cranky at this point. I ether wanted to sleep or work or…

_Wham, _I was flat on my back, on something soft, really soft, incredibly soft, extremely soft. I was lying on, quite possibly, the softest mattress in the world. Suddenly the all the fatigue and exhaustion came back, I struggled to stay awake, and even harder to get up; but there were a pair of gentle stone hands stopping me. I was allowed; however, to open my eyes. I love when I'm right; I was indeed sprawled across a bed larger than my old bedroom, and it was the most comfortable thing in the world. "Wow," was all I could manage.

"Is that a good wow, or a bad wow?" She asked.

"Don't worry. It was a good wow; I was just thinking how I could fit most of my stuff on to this bed and still have room to sleep." I said kicking my shoes off. "Finally something I can stretch out on." Alice graciously allowed me to swing my legs on to the bead.

"Will you get some sleep now?" She asked pouting. She probably, (definitely) already knew the answer or the condition.

"Only if you stay here with me," I said pulling her close to me. She didn't answer with words; she complied and lay down next to me, wrapping her cold arms around my neck. I closed my eyes holding out a hand and with a minute effort of will whispered "frozare." The bedroom light clicked off immediately. Soon after, sleep found me.

I welcomed it with open arms, when Alice was close to me, the nightmares that plagued me for so long ceased to exist. For the most part they were pleasant dreams or no dreams at all.

Tonight was different; they weren't nightmares, more like fears that I'd harbored inside me for the last week. What will happen when someone in the Council finds out I'm in love with a vampire, will the fact she has a soul make a difference? Will something ever happen that causes me to hurt someone in her family? These nightmare scenarios played out in my head time and time again. I didn't want to hurt Alice, not now, not ever; but I felt the same way about Katherine, and I know exactly how that turned out.

"_Katherine!" I called out to the cold forest that surrounded me, "Katherine, I'm sorry." There was no response for the thick stands of old oak trees. I stood knee deep in a cold wet blanket of fog that obscured the ground from me. I waited; sooner or later Katherine would come, she always came._

_I didn't have to wait much longer. Katherine appeared maybe a hundred feet in front of me in a brilliant silver flash. She wore nothing special, something I'd seen her in a hundred times, but something I didn't recognize; her hair flowed gently down her back. It seemed like she was floating towards me on top of the thick cloud of fog, rather than walking through it. _

_If I could, I would have run toward her, but I was once again stuck. Five feet in front of me she landed softly on the ground, the fog retreated around her, leaving her bathing in a pool of golden sunlight. She started closing the remaining distance between the two of us, her face a completely neutral mask. She stopped, inches from my face, and gave a quiet, soft smile. I let out a sigh of relief._

"_I'm sorry too," she said barely above a whisper. She stood up on her tip toes and kissed me lightly on the lips. She pulled away from me slowly, before asking me a simple question, "Do you love her?" Katherine's voice was still soft, weak, desperate._

"_Yes, I do." The clouds above me, and the fog below me slowly melted away, leaving both of us in bright golden sunlight. Her face relaxed no mask, no pain, just happiness._

"_Then you should be with her." She smiled, wrapping her arms around me, pulling her closer to me._

"_Thank you." I muttered embracing her tightly, "I still love you."_

"_I know, but we can't be together anymore." She was trying to hold back tears. I meant as much to her as she meant to me; except I still had the option of moving on, and finding love and life again. "Promise you will never forget me." She begged me._

"_Never." I promised, holding her closer. "Maybe someday, I'll figure out a way for you to meet Alice."_

"_I would like that." She said into my chest. "I love you, I always will." She openly sobbed into my chest. I felt tears of my own rolling down my cheeks. The sun around us grew even warmer; her perfect silver hair gleamed, making this scene even more beautiful. _

I gently opened my burning eyes. The morning was cold and grey, no real surprise, but after the bright golden sunshine of my dreams, even the real thing would have been a disappointment. Alice was still in my arms, I pulled her closer, burying my nose in her sweet smelling hair; which was damp, presumably from the tears that caused the burning in my eyes.

"Bad dreams?" Alice asked lifting her head from the crook of my shoulder. Her eyes were even a dimmer shade of gold, the constant reminder of what was inside of her.

"Surprisingly no, sad maybe." I told her, placing a gentle kiss on her frozen lips. A futile gesture, I know. "The dreams aren't bad when you're here." Alice had pulled one of the softest blankets around us. I could get used to this; soft bed, warm blanket, and a cold girl.

Something there seems backwards. A warm bed and a soft blanket; that's more like it.

"Think we should go back and join the others?" I asked into her damp hair, regretting my words instantly. Nothing in the world would be better right now than spending the morning in bed with Alice.

"No, I think that I should go back down to the others and I think you should call in your back up." She said kissing me lightly before slithering out of my arms and almost dancing to the door in less time than it took me to blink.

I lay there for a moment trying to gather the will to stand up. It took a solid five minutes of conscious effort before I could even get my legs on the floor, and another five to actually stand up.

I looked down at the bed, slowly shaking my head; that bed probably cost what I make in three months. Damn I wish I had money.

I quickly made my way through the post modernist labyrinth of their house, it was starting to get familiar too me, no indoor bowling alley, no basketball court, no movie theater. I missed my delusions and hallucinations sometimes. I found Carlisle's study again. One more point for the wizard from Missouri. The ultra modern phone that I'd found there on my first visit had been replaced by an old school rotary dial phone. They really put themselves out for me, I would have to get them a fruit basket for Christmas; except of course that they don't eat. But if what my parents told me holds water it's the thought that counts.

I dialed Harry's number as fast as the rotary dial let me. The phone rang once, twice half way through the third ring someone picked up. "Hello" an unfamiliar voice answered.

"Is this the number for Harry Dresden?" I asked wondering if I misdialed the phone.

"Yes," the feminine voice responded.

"Am I talking to Molly?" I asked hoping for a straight answer.

"No, this is Anastasia. Who may I say is calling?" Oh shit! I'd called Harry and Captain Luccio picked up the phone.

"Captain," I stammered, "I didn't recognize your voice. This is Warden Marsdon. Is everything okay?" My mind was trying to figure out all the possible reasons that the Captain of the wardens was answering the phone in Harry's apartment.

"Relax, Aaron," she answered, keeping her voice calm, "everything's fine." She sounded more relaxed than I'd ever heard her before; normally her voice is tense on edge.

"Actually Captain, you were my second call today." I started with a mouth full of cotton, "I'm sure you're well aware of the recent murders in Seattle," she murmured an ascent "I'm ninety percent sure that there the work of the Red Court, or at least a faction of the Red Court."

"I figured as much. What about the other murders, where full bite marks are left?" I guess you don't get to be the captain of the wardens sitting around on your ass.

"They're the work of a new species of vampire, nick named the Rose Court." I answered as directly as I could. "Long story, short they may be the most powerful vampires I've ever seen. They're every bit as strong as the Black Court with absolutely none of the weaknesses. I shot one in the head with a fifty caliber steel core round and it shrugged it off like I threw a piece of paper. Fortunately they seem to be week against fire, and a warden's blade."

"Good work, I've heard rumors about a race of vampires that the White Council doesn't recognize." she commented offhand, "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you need some help, and instead of going through proper channels you were going to ask Harry."

"Ya that's about right," I said, my face getting hot. "I was also hoping to call in the favor you said you'd owe me after what happened in Oregon."

"I can't really say no to that. After all a favor is a favor." She replied coolly, some static picked up on the line. Using this older phone was really helping cut down on the amount of static on the line.

"I don't know how much anyone has told you about this new species of vampire." I started

"Very little, other than the Volturi are members of the court." she cut me off.

"I feel it is important to mention now that it appears at least one of the vampires here has a soul."

I could hear a breath of surprise on the other end of the phone. "You're positive."

"I've only soulgazed one of them, on accident, but there definitely a soul in there. That's why I've started working with them."

"You what!" Her voice flashed over in anger. "Soul or no soul, they are still vampires, and you cannot work with them!"

"Wait until you meet them to judge them. They are more than willing to fight their own for no personal gain. They killed one of their own already to protect a human." I said immediately defending people…err…creatures…err…people that have helped me for no real reason.

"They still feed on the blood of humans don't they?" She said still on the offensive.

"No!" Another breath of surprise escaped, "They feed on the blood of animals. Before you ask yes I've seen one who feeds on humans. It could be why they have souls." I said taking over the power of the argument. This is the problem I've always had with the White Council; they are quick to judgment without the facts. It's the problem a lot of the younger wizards have with the council.

"I'm not asking you to like them, or to take my word. Just reserve judgment until you meet them." I know that no one would ever condone my relationship with Alice, but to condemn an entire group based on old prejudice. "Captain, you've trusted me in the past, all I'm asking for is a little trust now."

"Fine!" She said, giving in. "But after this consider all favors that I may owe you erased. Now I suppose you still would like to talk to Dresden." Her voice was cold and icy, the way it had always been.

"Yes captain, and thank you." I said. The line was silent before I'd even finished speaking. I'd waited a short while before the other receiver was picked up.

"Kid, I don't know what you said to piss of Ana like that, but you're going to pay for ruining my weekend." Wonderful, both allies I had are now pissed at me. "C'mon how many weekends do I get where no one is trying to kill me."

Whoa! Ana? Does that mean that Harry and Captain Luccio are dating! That's just unnatural. It's just weird.

"I wouldn't have called if it wasn't bad. I'm dealing with two separate species of vampires forming either hit-squads or armies in Seattle, and I think they're after a teenage girl. Who else would I turn to but the man who trained me?" Ha, ha, I'd pushed the duty button and the chivalry button.

"Damn you know how to push my buttons to well kid. How fast do you need me… us there?" I guess this relationship was rather new if he's still doesn't know when to use 'I' and 'we'.

"Fast as possible. There's a Way through Summer that will take from behind CPD to a local sporting goods store. Shouldn't take you more than an hour." For anyone confused a Way with a capital 'w' is a path through Faerie wizards are allowed to use. Ways are paths that shorten the distance from two normally long points to a short walk. A journey that would take a normal person ten hours by commercial jet can be made using the Ways in under an hour. Summer is the other court of Faerie and is ruled by Titania, but I digress…again.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Let's see murdering vampires, times two; working with vampires that have souls; did I mention the prophecy?" I was trying to make sure that I told him everything before I was gagged by the presence of the White Council.

"Did you find out that you get to be a real boy?" He said with mock sarcasm.

"No but I did find about the Dhampir." I said completely ignoring the joke. I learned a long time ago never, ever, ever encourage him by laughing at his jokes.

He let out a sharp whistle, but didn't say a word.

"It's coming, I'm not going to get involved unless absolutely necessary, but there is a young girl here who fell in love with one of the vampires, and unfortunately he fell in love with her." I decided to skip all the other details and just give him the highlights.

"You've gotten yourself into a mess big enough for me." He said after a brief pause, "prophecies are a nasty business, but you're doing the right thing by not getting involved."

Okay vampires check, other vampires check, prophecy check, if Luccio's with him I'm not going to be stupid enough to ask him to bring in his vampiric half brother. "One last thing," I said before I managed to forget. "What's going on with Ramirez?"

"Long story," Harry sighed almost immediately. "One of his best friends was just tried and executed for breaking the second law. He's pretty damn pissed at the council. I wouldn't be surprised if he resigned."

That's really rough; too many good people get executed for making simple mistakes. The Council isn't really interested in justice; its only concern is about stemming the amount of dark magic being used. Dark magic is just like a drug, the more you use the more you want to use, the more you have to use. I understand it, but I don't like it.

But to be executed for turning someone into an animal. That's not a law that gets broken all the time; personally I've never heard of anyone being executed for it before.

"That sucks," was all I could really manage. "Okay, I'll catch both of you up the rest of the way after you get to the great state of Washington."

"All right, see you soon kid." He hung up the phone. I ended up muttering a goodbye to a dial tone.

Wonderful, now I only have two wizards coming instead of three and no other help.

I've got one hour before Harry and Luccio get here. That means less than one hour to prepare the people here, get a new plan together, and go pick them up.

At least no one's trying to kill me right freaking now!


	23. Chapter 23

**A. N. I feel obligated to tell you that there is a very, very, very minor spoiler for **_**Small Favor**_** and **_**Turn Coat **_**in this chapter. Personally I think it's almost negligible, and if someone didn't know better would probably assume a little creative licenseing on my part.**

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Chapter 23

I wound my way from the study back down to the makeshift war room. Added to the maps of missing persons cases and body locations there were more detailed maps of Seattle with curved arrows marking out angles of attack, angles of retreat, and good spots to flank. I'll hand it to them; they're smart, but none of them know much about how to organize an attack within a city.

All the strategies are technically perfect, but none of them are practical in a city if we want to remain relatively unnoticed, which we do.

Everyone in the war room looked completely flawless, something I've never seen.

Time takes a toll on everyone, or it should. After twenty-four hours worth of work even the strongest people start showing fatigue, maybe not physically, but mentally. It just isn't possible for the mind to stay active forever without some sort of down time.

I guess that's why I'm human and there not, they aren't burdened with the same things I am. And by the same token I'm not burdened with the same things they are.

"I don't mean to sound selfish but stop what you're doing and focus on me." I announced as I walked in. I didn't have to say anything everyone's attention was already focused intently on me.

"Okay, I have some good news and a lot of bad news." I said taking a seat at the head of the table, "The good news is that we're getting some grade 'A' backup: my old mentor, Harry, and the captain of the wardens. The bad news, that's all were getting, the third I was hoping for just had a friend get executed." I took a quick moment to look at a new plan that Alice was sketching on a separate copy of the map. No one looked completely surprised by what I said; I guess Alice had told them all of this.

"There's worse news: Edward, Alice, both of your gifts are technically illegal under the laws of magic, no one in the Council outside this room knows just how strong they are. So if you guys want to keep your heads attached to your necks; don't make it obvious that you have them. In other words, no showing off!"

They both looked at me with moderate surprise; I'd gotten the jump on them for a change. Without their gifts, I'd imagine they would be as lost as I would be without my magic. Eventually they both gave slight nods of understanding.

"Have you given any thought to when we should go?" Rosalie asked turning away from one of the windows covered in close up maps.

"Tonight if possible. There's no reason to wait; the longer we wait, the more we're out numbered. In two hours we'll know for sure." I got up from the table and started again towards the stairs.

I turned around "if you can, get at least dozen swords here, were going to need them."

I left them to plan out what they could, I'm sure they knew that the plans would all change. That's why I stopped worrying about it.

I climbed the stairs navigating my way over to the bathroom that has been supposedly wizard proofed. It didn't take me very long to strip down and get into the nicest shower of my life, it's the nicest because it's the current one and it's still hot. The water heater is far enough away I suppose. There was a small area of one shelf cleared off that had my soap and shampoo resting comfortable on it.

It took me fifteen minutes to finish my shower and change into a spare set of cloths I keep in the bathroom. Just like a boy scout, always prepared. It was a set of fighting clothes, a black long sleeved t-shirt and black fatigue pants. Forty-five minutes left to get over to the sport store. I'm glad I found a convenient Way into and out of Forks.

I toweled my hair dry while walking into Alice's room to grab my cloak and staff. I tossed the towel on the floor by my suit cases heading back down the stairs. I was getting scary good at navigating this house.

Back down to the war room again. I walked in like I owned the place. "Rosalie, what's up with the swords?"

"They should be here in six hours or less." She responded a bit confused. Alice, standing behind her, mouthed 'four and a half.'

"Good. Edward, it would be better if Bella wasn't around when the other Wardens get here." I said walking over to the window covered in the most up to date plan of attack.

"Bella isn't here; she's with the dogs on the reservation." He shot back not taking his eyes off what he was doing. "She should be safe there for today."

"Alice, how many are we dealing with?" I said wrapping an arm around her waist. Her eyes had a glazed over look, like she was having a vision, but her hand was tracing something out onto a sheet of paper, it looked like a plaza or some sort of public square.

It looked like a good area to fight a perfect place to pincer people in and then give them no way out. There were various similar sketches all around the table and the windows. Many of them having pieces of various colored yarn connecting them to a specific points on the map. Some of them having notations under them, like 'avoid', or 'try to fight here.' Clearly the speech on toning down their gifts was working terribly well.

Suddenly Alice snapped out of her trance, her drawing finished. "There's ten of our kind, and fifteen of your Red Court." She said smiling. Those weren't bad odds, especially considering the type of terrain we were going to be fighting in.

"Wonderful. In forty five minutes Harry Dresden and Captain Luccio, will be at Newton's sporting goods. Once we get back we're going to come up with a real plan. Hopefully by tomorrow morning there won't be any more vampire death-squads." I said leaning on the table.

"You want to take my car?" Alice as interlocking her fingers in mine.

I nodded.

"Good let's go get the keys." She said pulling me up from my chair. We went back up the stairs and through the twisting maze of hallways.

When we got back to her room she pushed me up against the door and started kissing me hungrily though her eyes were back to bright gold. Her cold tongue frantically roamed through my mouth.

I kissed back as soon as the initial shock and surprise wore off. I met her move for move; pull her closer against me, tangling my hands in her silky spikes. I nipped lightly at her bottom lip, she moaned into my mouth, making me shiver with excitement. I was starting to get light headed from the lack of oxygen.

I reluctantly pulled back, breaking the kiss, "We're not going to be able to do this while the other wizards are here." I said going back in for another quick kiss before she could say anything.

"I know," she said breaking this new kiss, "but that doesn't mean we can't do this right now."

Can't argue with perfect logic like that.

Because she is a lady and I a gentleman I won't go into the details of what we did for the next fifteen minutes, but I will say that it was both hot and heavy.

"Okay, I really need to leave this time." I said getting up from the bed, readjusting my cloak.

"Fine," she said, pulling down her shirt. I said I wasn't going to describe what we were doing, the aftermath is fair game. "The keys are on the bookshelf." She curled up on the bed, closing her eyes.

I grabbed the keys and my staff before making my way towards the garage, an even longer walk than it was to the war room.

I unlocked the car door the old fashion way, part of the wizard proofing the car was removing the keyless entry. I tossed my staff in the back. My hands were trembling when I opened the garage door. They were completely shaking when I turned the engine over. The purr of the engine sounded just like Alice when she was pretending to be asleep.

The Porsche was an absolute dream to drive, the winding of the engine just before I had to shift, the absolutely smoothness of the ride. It was a close second to sex as far as pleasurable activities go. It was a night and day difference to whatever junker I drove, when I was lucky enough to have a car. I didn't dare take it over seventy-five though, and a lot slower when I hit the town limit. I swerved into the parking lot at "Newton's Sporting Goods," a small mom and pop store that was situated in what passed for Forks downtown area. It was deserted on this Sunday morning. I got out of the car tossing my cloak into the backseat. Harry was right; cloaks and cars do not mix especially fine European sports cars. I grabbed my staff out of the back seat before going to the back of the store. It took a few moments to find the exact doorway to Faerie.

I wish I could say that opening a door to another world was really dramatic, but it is pretty cool. I held my staff up to the wall tracing the correct area in a large square; the wall seemed to melt away for a moment leaving a soft shimmer.

I stepped right through it, and as I did the wall closed behind me leaving me about three feet from the actual Way.

The weather in this area of Faerie is absolutely amazing. It was just over the border into summer, and the climate would make Hawaii jealous. The sun was marvelously warm, not hot, but warm, with a pleasant breeze that came straight from the heart of Summer.

Faerie is never a safe place even when you have permission from the Queen to be there. Even so I found a comfortable little stump and waited for the arrival of Harry and Luccio.

I didn't have long to wait. Ten minutes later I heard hard footsteps further down the trail. Another minute later I say the two of them in grey cloaks carrying staves. Harry was on the right, a slightly intimidating man standing about six four and lanky as hell. He never like the idea of being a warden so he rarely, if ever, wore his grey cloak, instead he was wrapped up heavy black-leather duster, that I know for a fact is more bullet proof than Kevlar. There was a huge bulge in his duster pocket, the evidence of the comically large .44 revolver he carried. Underneath his leather duster was a blasting rod that looked very similar to mine tied to the inside by a leather thong.

Next to him was a woman that didn't look her age, a few years ago Luccio ran into a nasty necromancer called The Corpse Taker. It took over her body and left her in the body of a twenty something co-ed. She was wearing her grey cloak and black fatigues underneath her cloak. She carried a solid white, staff that didn't show any type of runs or other marks. She was the captain of the wardens for a reason. She didn't send in twenty box tops and nine dollars and ninety-five cents to become the leader of the militant branch of the White Council. On her hip was a small pistol, a Sig I think, definitely more sensible than Harry's .44 or my Desert Eagle. But c'mon those guns are a lot of fun and extremely manly. On her other his she wore a delicately curved saber, very similar to my own rapier.

I casually rose up from the stump I was sitting on, that wasn't a good idea in Faerie you never know what's actually alive. I strode over too them in a relaxed manner, the rest of the day was going to be tense enough, there's no point in making an uncomfortable day even worse. "Captain, Harry," I greeted them motioning them to follow me.

I reopened the portal and led them back into our world. "Welcome to my slice of hell. It's not much, but it sucks." I said with a grand gesture to the raining sight around us. "If you come with me I will show you to your ride." I said going over the corner of the parking lot with the Porsche. "It's not much, but it's a loner." I unlocked the passenger door along with the rear passenger door.

Harry's jaw dropped, Luccio looked at it with a measure of discomfort and disgust. "Captain, to answer your unasked question, it's a loner the vampires didn't try and bribe me with it." I said regarding Luccio's uneasiness.

"Warden, I hope these vampires are half as trusting as you think they are." She said sharply, slipping off the cloak, and sliding into the back seat.

Without breathing a word Harry mouthed, "Nice ride," before he folded himself into the front passenger seat. I climbed into the driver seat and started up the engine, it turned over with the slightest cough, I cringed at the sound; if I hurt this car it was a fair guess that Alice would hurt me.

I drove back much slower, giving me time to catch both of them up on the details. What's happening in Seattle, what these new types of vampires were like, basically I told them the basic basics. It was less than a twenty minute ride so I couldn't tell them much. Harry was impressed by my skillful navigation of the grey area; Luccio was disgusted by the same thing.

In my most humble of opinions most White Council members need to remove the sticks from their collective asses.

I pulled into the drive way and cut the engine and opened my door; gesturing them to follow me. I knocked gently on the door and waited for almost a second. Esme opened the door looking like a Stepford wife preparing to go to war. "Wardens please come in." She said backing away from the door allowing us to move past. "Everyone is waiting for the three of you in the dining room."

"Thank you." I said walking in; Harry and Luccio followed my lead. Esme showed us into the dining room, I thought it best if I didn't lead everyone in, I was still supposed to be a stranger here.

Everyone besides Carlisle was still fine tuning their plans. The table and windows were covered in even more sketches, more string, and more maps. I hadn't had the time I wanted to figure out the right place to fight. That was something I would let them decide.

Carlisle came up to our little trio and introduced himself pleasantly, "I extend to you my hospitality that no harm will come to any of you as long as you are in my home." He looked Luccio straight in the eye. "My name is Carlisle, you met my wife Esme at the door, my daughters Alice and Rosalie are at the window, and my sons Emmet and Edward are at the table."

"Thank you Carlisle," Luccio said meeting his gaze; either she didn't believe me about them having a soul or she intentionally drew him into a soulgaze. Either way it happened. I'm not used to seeing a soulgaze from the outside, and frankly it's rather disturbing, both participants seem to zone out and they look like zombies, it only lasts a few seconds though, when you're active in one it seems like hours. After it was over Luccio looked towards me and gave me a look of affirmation, admitting without words that I was right and they could be trusted; people should listen to me more often, I'm wise beyond my years.

I fought the urge to say, 'Told ya so.' Occasionally my mind works faster than my mouth.

"Let's get to work," I said breaking the momentary tension, "we have vampires to kill."

"No offense." I said addressing Carlisle.

"None taken," he said coolly turning back to what he was working on.

In my estimation any creature that can process information ten times faster than a regular human shouldn't have to take this long to strategize. I sat down at the opposite end of the table, flanked on either side by the two new wizards, reviewing all the detailed maps with sketches that said some variation of 'go here' attached. I also took note of the other sketches that were either marked 'Danger,' or 'Avoid.' I stood up when I'd studied all of the smaller maps, turning my focus onto the larger area map; the one that had all the flags of people that had disappeared and were murdered. The only real discrepancy I saw was in Port Angeles. No detailed maps, no sketches, nothing and yet there was about a quarter of the crimes within the city.

"Are there any theories about what's going on in PA?" I said thumping the city on map with my finger. "Whatever's going on here is going on in Seattle on a much bigger scale."

"No we haven't considered it, with what's going on in Seattle," Slabs boomed quietly. I forget that even though most of the people in this room look young their close to four times my age.

"I think I get what you're getting at." Harry said, "There snacking in PA and feasting in Seattle." There are times I'm not sure whether Harry is a genius or he's an idiot. This is the latter. "The real question is what their favorite blood type is?"

"Not exactly," I said, "what if they're feeding in Seattle and turning people in Seattle and then bringing them back to PA." Occam's razor at work, sometimes the simplest explanation isn't the correct one, but this makes as few assumptions as possible.

"That's unlikely, newborns of our kind are extremely violent and unpredictable, if they were in a city as small as Port Angeles we would know about it." Edward said in that god awfully perfect voice of his.

"Not if they were using magic." I said trying to match his tone, and failing miserably.

"Containment circles."

"Containment circles." Harry and Luccio said in perfect unison, before both tried to stifle a childish giggle. There's something about your boss and your mentor giggling over something so stupid that just makes your blood run cold.

"What's a containment circle?" Alice asked moving her gaze from one wizard to the next. My bet she already knew the answer, but was playing dumb.

"Remember that tracking spell I did and the circle I used." She nodded playing along, "That kind of circle is used to keep other power out; a containment circle is used to keep energies in." I explained quickly, I received a room full of blank looks, except for the two people who know more about them than I do. I didn't think that explanation was so hard to understand. "They're like cages; they can keep people, animals, vampires, and demons in them."

Suddenly everyone made the same leaps I had made five minutes ago. The vampires were trying to get closer to their intended target while making it look like they were further away. I wouldn't have made the connection at all if they hadn't screwed up and killed in Port Angeles. And if they were using containment circles then we were dealing with something much more powerful than a bunch of shitty vampires.

Fuck!

We're dealing with The Black Council. I looked straight at Harry; he'd made the same connection; I saw it in his eyes. It's a mento/mentee thing that most people don't understand. He'd been the one that told me about some group trying to do something bigger, they'd been responsible for a ton of things that had happened before I met him, and presumably several things since.

They're the reason I'm a warden, they have a mole somewhere deep in the White Council; that mole is responsible for getting almost fifty wardens killed in Sicily a few years ago, which is why so many young wizards became wardens.

On cue, the doorbell rang, making a tense situation even worse, not many people will stop by this house in the middle of the forest, and even fewer will ring the doorbell.

Rosalie got up immediately and went the door at a completely human speed. She came back in an instant later carrying two large boxes under each arm. "I paid an extra two grand to have these rushed here in under six hours." She said setting the boxes down on the dining room table. "Thirteen just like you asked for."

Thirteen? I said a dozen, I suppose thirteen is a baker's dozen. "Good, razor sharp?"

"Doesn't even begin to describe them." She said almost cutting me off.

"I trust everyone in this room knows how to use them." Everyone started giving me weird looks, especially the vampires; Edward especially, his face was twisted in concentration, he was trying to read me.

"Okay here's the plan." I said leaning against the wall, "All of us won't be fighting together, we're going to break up into two groups. The three of us," I said indicating Harry, Luccio, and myself, "are going after the Rose Court vampires, and we're going to make a huge scene about it. They aren't signed on to the accords in any way." Faces slowly started to melt into understanding, Alice first.

"We can attack them without worrying about any repercussions. As wardens we can't aggressively go after the Red Court, if we do they'll take that as an excuse to start the war again. That would be disasters for the White Council." Luccio nodded solemnly, Harry just shrugged. "That's why when the three of us are making a huge scene; the six of you are going to start taking out the Red Courters quietly. You already have the advantage of speed over them so use it. Take the swords and either cut their heads off or cut their bellies open, preferably both. That way we wizards have deniability that we didn't touch the Red Court."

An odd silence fell across the room; everyone, including Harry, was speechless. I half-expected someone (okay either Harry or Slabs) to start a slow clap or something, I thought the plan was brilliant; especially because I just came up with it on the fly. I searched around the room waiting for someone to say something, or I was going to break into an awkward song and dance number, high school drama, remember. I caught Alice's eye, she gave a slight smile; at least one person approved of my plan.

"Interesting plan, warden." Luccio said with a slight nod, breaking the awkward silence.

"I like it; simple, direct, plenty of violence. Gosh darn it, it seems like a winner to me." Harry said in his trademark sarcastic tone. At least it's one vote for my plan, no matter how sarcastic.

"Works for me!" Slabs laughed before being slapped on the back of the head by the Ice Queen.

"That's all well and good," Carlisle began, pacing towards the map, "But none of the images Alice has seen have pointed towards Port Angeles." He did have a point, but I had a better one.

"Yes, but both have a massive amount of docks and piers, both of which look incredibly similar. And since none of the visions have given us an exact location the best we can say is that they all resemble ports." I think everyone had an unspoken agreement that Alice's power gave her glimpses of important areas that she could draw from memory.

"If they want us to think they are in Seattle, then maybe they want us to attack them there." Luccio said her voice neutral and distant. She was watching the battle play out in her head; something you can see after a hundred and fifty years of being a warden. It's not near the same as my ability; I can see specific outcomes of specific decisions as the battle plays out. Not as impressive as it sounds, trust me.

"An ambush." Esme said. Those were the only two words I'd heard her speak since we started planning; she seemed to be content sitting in the corner and watching.

"Exactly." I interjected, "so we hit 'em where they don't expect us to." Everyone gave one solemn nod. Seems like this plan is a keeper.

Suddenly all six vampires in the room tensed up, something was coming.

Nothing is ever easy.


	24. Chapter 24

**Authors Note: Hey guys it's late and I've had a long day so I'm not going to be long winded. Here's the next chapter just in time for July. Read and enjoy, we're in the last leg for this story. Oh and drop a review if your muse descends.

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Chapter 24

I immediately threw out my senses trying to find out whatever was causing that reaction. Harry and Anastasia did the exact same thing. There wasn't anything truly abnormal; only something that was slightly warm at the very edges of my magical sense.

It couldn't be very good if it sent six super human vampires into red alert.

I jumped up from the table willing my staff into my hands; it flew into my hands at super human speed. I grasped it tightly in both hands, and started to will magic into it, if there was a fight, this time I wasn't going to be caught with my pants down (or my shoes off for that matter). With my magical senses still I tried to figure out just what was going on.

Harry had pulled his blasting rod and hand cannon from out of his leather duster, Luccio did much the same, holding her pistol in one hand keeping her other hand free. She could cast more intense and powerful fire with her bare hand than Harry or I could with a focus, again coming from a hundred and fifty years worth of experience. The six vampires were still frozen in their positions, perfect statues, ready to attack at blinding speed.

And of course the most anticlimactic thing happened…

The doorbell rang. Who rings a doorbell before they attack, that's like…I can't think of a more idiotic example than: ringing a doorbell before you attack.

No one moved from their positions, like they were frozen to their spots out of pure anger; so I went to answer the door. I gave a slight nod to everyone before I opened the door.

Again the most anticlimactic thing happened.

A regular person…A regular freakin' person was standing at the door, nothing truly supernatural about him; he sure as hell wasn't a vampire. He seemed to tower over me, not really an easy thing to do unless you're a basketball player; he was half a foot taller than my six feet, at least. He reminded me of a younger version of Wizard Listens-to-Wind (I'm not sure, but that may be a little racist,) his skin was a deep bronze color, almost red (that one I know was racist.) He was dressed in something no one should be caught dead in, a pair of old sweatpants that were cut a little too short, and an old sweatshirt that met the same fate.

I can put two and two together and most of the time I get to four. He was one of the Quileute werewolves, and the look on his face said he was none to happy to be here. "You must be the wizard." He said, as his hands began to shake.

"Well I do have a staff, and I am wearing this snazzy grey cloak. I think that makes me a wizard." I looked to my staff, and then to my cloak. "And since you smell like a wet dog; I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you're one of the wolves."

He didn't respond right away, the shaking and trembling in his hands slowly moved up his arms and into his shoulders before taking over the rest of his body. "Yes," he started to speak through clenched teeth, "my name is…"

"Listen Fido, I don't care what your name is. You interrupted a meeting of the White Council, so you better have a damn good reason." I said as condescendingly as I could with a terrible little smirk pulling at the edges of my lips. I was pushing all the right buttons; new werewolves have a tendency to rely on their anger.

His entire body started to shake, every molecule began to vibrate. He looked like he was strung out on a case and a half of Red Bull; the shaking, the narrowed eyes, the rhythmic clenching and unclenching of his fists. He began taking deep breaths, seeming to choke on the air around him; attempting to calm himself. It didn't seem to help, but slowly, very slowly he began to calm himself. The violent shaking that racked every muscle of his body eased up to a tremble.

He spoke again, very slowly, very controlled, in a vain attempt to keep rage from his voice. "Why didn't you tell us about the leeches in Seattle?"

"Gosh it was on my 'to do' list, right under learn to speak Mandarin and create world peace. I don't see how I could have missed it." I pulled an imaginary sheet of paper out of my pocket, "There it is, how silly of me. Sorry." I said with just a touch of sarcasm, and condemnation. There a few quiet snorts of laughter behind me, followed by just as many harsh glares.

Apparently I wasn't being very diplomatic.

"We have the right to know what's going on." He said controlling his rage slightly better.

"To know what, that there has been a war between wizards and vampires for almost seven years? You play a dangerous game in a world you do not comprehend, Rover. There are a lot of things in this world that are very scary, very nasty, and like nothing better than to find ignorant people who are cocksure in their abilities and destroy them." I was desperately trying to shake him up and I'm not quite sure how I was doing.

For a short moment he was a little too stunned to speak; then the rage came back full force and flooded into his voice, "How dare you get Bella involved in this." Of course, this was the werewolf best friend Bella mentioned on my first day here. He lunged towards me, still human.

I held my hand up, whispering, "Flavis." Thunder without sound escaped my hand rippling the air around me with visible disruptions. "If you want to speak with me, yell at me, or try or beat the life out of me than run, straight back for a mile and a half."

"What? Why?" He stammered oblivious to what was happening around him.

"They can't hear us and they won't for another five seconds, if you want to really talk run; if not stay here." I said in as neutral a voice as I could. What I had done is disrupt the air around us with vibrations counter to a person's voice, it creates a barrier that sound cannot pass through, they couldn't hear us and we couldn't hear them. One of my more impressive tricks if I do say so.

"Okay." He said just before the bubble came down. He took off at a dead sprint clearly resisting the urge to change into his wolf form, as he hit the tree line he did shift into a large russet colored wolf.

I didn't waste any time of my own, I reached into my pocket and pulled out the little silver cheetah figurine that I'd been working on for the better part of a week, nights mostly.

Ya, so I lied when I said I spent a magic free week.

I held it in my free hand and begun willing magic into it, the silver figure began to glow a dull white. It worked; I took off running towards the tree line like I was shot from cannon, the faster I went the brighter it would glow, and the brighter it glowed the faster I could run. I wasn't sure just how long I could keep up this sprint before magic would destroy that little figure; it began to get painfully hot after a mile at a pace I could keep up with most cars, I slowed my pace after what seemed like a mile, and slowed even further when I could see a man breaking the solid green background.

I slowed to a stop, dropping the little silver statue onto the wet ground below; it made a sharp hissing noise and steam rose from the damp ground in a little cloud.

"Whatever you know I didn't want my people finding out, so whatever questions you have ask them." I said sharply.

"Did you really give those leeches permission to change Bella into one of them?" He asked sitting down onto a fallen log, he wasn't angry with what was going on, he was upset over losing her.

People are really obvious sometimes.

"No, I gave all of them, including Bella, an ultimatum. Either they turn Bella or I kill Edward." My words were neutral, not betraying anything I knew.

"Why?"

"Forces beyond your understanding or mine figured that Bella was involved in something huge. They've been trying to kill her, probably since the day she was born, maybe earlier." I said trying to give as few details as possible.

"How do you know?"

"Hello, wizard!" I said waving my staff in his face. "I don't like it anymore than you do. But sometimes, there isn't a good choice to be made; those times you have to choose the lesser of two evils."

"Ya, I guess, but I doubt you don't like it anymore than I do." he said. Defeated. He was beginning to understand that he wasn't an all powerful creature anymore, that there was a larger world than what he'd known. Not surprisingly he reacted this way when confronted by the truth of the matter.

"Anything else," I said, bending down to pick up my trinket. It was, surprisingly, still intact, all the intricate carving that Alice had helped me with hadn't even begun to melt.

"No, that was it."

"Okay, make sure Bella survives the night, I don't want the prophecy to come true, but in my plan she stays alive."

"Even at the cost of her soul?"

"Nope, not at all." I said willing magic back into the figurine again. I liked being able to run like this, the wind, the speed, the added agility. I kept my pace down, so that I didn't risk burning my hand, or destroying my new toy. "Even if she gets back she'll still have one."

I grinned mischievously and took off at full speed. Two miles and one red hot trinket

I arrived back and Chateau Cullen, to a frightening scene. Six vampires dressed in solid black with two brand new shining silver swords at their hips. No two vampires were carrying the same set of swords. Carlisle had a rapier on one hip and a main-gauche on the other; Emmet's back was strapped down by two five foot bastard swords; Alice was armed with two short swords, one was a nasty curved sword that resembled a long Kris; Edward with old fashion cavalry sabres; Esme, who was extremely uncomfortable with the swords, and Rosalie, who wasn't, were carrying two different versions of long swords.

Luccio and Harry were standing off to the side, of this odd and rather scary tableau; Luccio was giving commands in a mixture of English and Italian, I didn't think that I was gone that long. Everyone was following the orders quickly, only Carlisle looked like he had handled a sword before, the others looked like amateurs who only know how to hold one because of what they'd seen in movies.

I hadn't ever bothered to explain to them why they needed the swords, I wasn't doubting their ability to pull the head off of a Red Courter or rip their stomachs open with their bare hands; I was worried about what would happen if they got all of that warm, sticky, juicy, wonderful human blood on their hands. Alice had probably told them what was going to happen so they happily played along. When I first saw them through the trees, the swords were in their scabbards, I hadn't taken another step forward when all the swords were in their hands, every single one of them gleaming in the grey light of the Washington morning.

I didn't hear anything, but at once they all broke up into pairs and started sparring, only occasionally touching swords, sending a loud metallic ring into the air. The plan was coming together quite nicely, possibly because there was no one in the immediate area trying to stop us.

It didn't take long before the six of them stopped, sheathing their swords of course. For all the intense training none of them looked tire or out of breath, naturally. I hate immortals so much sometimes. I suppose it is at a cost, all of their eyes were several shades darker, and the circles were much more noticeable.

I started through the trees perfectly content to watch this display from the comfort of the tree line. Start to finish the entire scene before me was over in less than fifteen minutes. I casually crossed the meadow around the house, watching a tensely pleasant conversation between Carlisle and the captain, probably about their need to hunt before tonight.

They all politely took off their swords before speeding off into the forest in different directions. Doesn't seem like they treasure family dinners. I crack me up sometimes. I walked up to the two other wizards.

"Aaron, it seems like I owe you an apology. These vampires are everything you said they were and more." Anastasia wasn't used to apologizing; I could hear the strain in her voice.

I accepted her apology and at the same time acknowledging how hard it was. "Captain, never apologize..."

"…It's a sign of weakness," she cut me off, finishing my line. "John Wayne, _She Wore a Yellow Ribbon_. I'm impressed." Now it was my turn to be shocked.

"Now I'm even more impressed, I never knew you knew John Wayne." I know I've played the age card before, but I would have never figured a hundred and fifty plus person, let alone a women, would _not_ be able to quote John Wayne.

"I've always had a fascination with the American West. It was the first western I saw; I've seen all of the John Wayne westerns." She said matter-of-factly.

"How hot is that?" Harry said, getting an elbow to the gut and a look that shot daggers. I think Luccio still thought I was in the dark about their relationship. "I mean, how hot does it get around here?" He added quickly trying to get back on her good side. It didn't work, but for my mentor I was happy to play along.

"I haven't seen it get above forty, but then again it is early February." I said with an exaggerated wink, that most blind people wouldn't miss.

"What did Lassie say?" Harry said skillfully changing the subject.

Damn it why could I think of Lassie, or Rin Tin Tin. I could only think of common dog names. "Not much, apparently he's heard that there were vampires and was upset that he and his pack aren't getting a piece of the action." Yes I lied to Harry, but I wouldn't have if Luccio wasn't there. It's not that I don't trust her, I trust her with my life, but she's some of the whitest of the White Council, she doesn't do grey area very well. I thought it was better she didn't know, that way I have complete deniability.

The three of us went back inside; apparently we have permission to use their humble mansion. I already knew that, that's what happens when you're dating one of the family. The sole reason they were helping was because of Bella, they all thought of her as family (even the ice queen.) I've never seen this kind of loyalty.

I grabbed my rapier, and my other stuff, out of Alice's room and brought it down to the expansive living room. I settled on the couch and started polishing everything I owned.

Waiting is the worst part of the fight; all I could do now was imagine all the nasty possible outcomes.

Anyone of us might not come back. A month ago I wouldn't have given death a second thought; I didn't have anything to live for back then, now I had Alice. I couldn't do that to her, she'd already lost one love, because of me.

Oh God, what if she doesn't come back, what if the other vampires have some sort of magic bullet to kill them. I would be back to having nothing to live for, not to mention that everyone else would lose a daughter or a sister.

I didn't spare a worry over Harry or Anastasia. I've seen them both get out of impossible situations; if only two people survived tonight it would be them. Good god, if Harry did die than his apprentice would be killed, she's already on wizard probation; having your teacher die, is considered breaking it, the only punishment is death.

I continued to absently polish my sword, until it had a mirror finish. I gently sheathed taking up my staff and a piece of fine sand paper, just as absently I started buffing out every ding and every scratch. I was so focused on worrying I didn't notice Harry sit down.

"Worrying doesn't do any good, kid. Trust me." He said giving me a reassuring tap on the shoulder.

"I know, but that doesn't stop me, I keep thinking about all the bad things that could happen." I wanted to tell him what was really worrying me, but again I didn't like showing the captain just how much I was in the grey area. I felt weak; I'd opened myself up to so much pain when I made the decision to pump life into that shriveled piece of beef jerky I called a heart. I didn't realize that when I took Ana's advice that it would suck so much in the end.

"So you and the short one huh; what's her name…Alice?" He said casually. I never could keep a secret from him; he and I are too much alike, it's probably why we worked. "Don't worry, she doesn't know." Luccio was meditating in the corner of the dining war room; that was her prefight ritual. "You're the only one who could rival me for the most screwed up love life."

I coughed a short laugh, "You don't even want to know." I kept my eyes on my staff, still buffing it in short circles, "First morning I was here; I killed her 'husband.' I show up here, soulgaze her, leave, she sneaks into the house I've been staying at and lays with me all night. If that isn't the most screwed up first date in the world, I don't know what is." I idly turned the staff over in my hands inspecting the end I'd been working on.

"You got me beat, I only proposed to a half-vampire, you're dating the real thing." He took the sand paper out of my hand, "I should do this more often." He said turning it over in his hand a few times. He picked up his staff that he leaned up against the couch and did the same thing I'd done.

That's the thing about guys; we can have entire conversations in complete silence.

I rolled my staff between my hands absently; the white Modesto Ash of my staff reminded me of all the things that I'd left behind. Wizards normally choose a piece of wood that has some meaning to them, Harry's is made out of a piece from a lightning struck tree, mine was one of the main branches of a tree from Katherine's front yard, she gave it too me when she found out Harry said I was ready to make one. That was Katherine, ever the pragmatist; the staff, the ring, and the bag were the only things I had to remind me of her.

At least I had her, not nearly long enough, but I had her. For the first time in three years I was able to smile when I thought of her. I let all sorts of memories flood in to my consciousness; things that used to be painful, our first kiss, the week we spent on the beach, even normal school days that I'd taken for granted at the time, caused pain. I managed to make myself smile at the memories. Just because I can smile, doesn't mean that I don't want to cry.

_Promise you will never forget me._ The memory of Katherine's voice echoed through my head like she was sitting right next to me, not like an echo from a dream I will soon forget. I can't forget her, even if I wanted. Even _when_ I wanted to I couldn't, if anything I remembered her more; everything in the world reminded me of her.

I should have been stronger; it shouldn't hurt this much after three and a half years.

"Don't blame yourself too much for what happened to Katherine." He said absently, "Trust me; it leads down a bad road. It happened, it sucks, but you were playing with powers bigger than either of us. But what the hell do I know, I'm insane."

I barked another short laugh, "You're right, but I'm insane too. I take on too much." I set my staff aside, staring out the window at the green and grey scene. "So how's Chicago?"

"Same old, same old. Mob bosses, vampires, werewolves, denarians, warlocks. The usual people that want to see me dead." He said indifferently, "and of course you realized about me and Ana."

"Ya, let me be the first to say that it's weird, and I'm a little grossed out." I said just as indifferently.

"Too bad kid, too bad." He said putting his feet up on the coffee table. "How long 'til sunset?" He closed his eyes, settling into the couch.

"Five-hours, forty-six minutes." I said getting up form the couch; sunset was the time we decided to leave for Port Angeles.

"Still have that weird time telling thing." He said lowly, cocking one eyebrow.

"It's more accurate now, than it was." I said, "five-hours, forty-five minutes," I walked out of the room, towards the kitchen. Since I was a kid, I've always been able to tell time without a watch, when I was ten I was about fifteen minutes off in either direction, by fifteen I was five minutes off, now I'm dead on with those atomic clock things you can buy from Best Buy.

And before I get any questions, I learn what time the sun sets, just like everyone else, from the newspaper. Okay, not like everyone, most people probably find out on the internet, and that requires a computer, which I can't use.

I hadn't been in the kitchen before, but I wasn't surprise that it was just as ultra modern as the house; stainless steel appliances that, although aren't used very much, have no dust or grime on them. I was afraid to touch anything in there; I could imagine the sparks flying. I opened the refrigerator door, quickly scanning the contents, or lack of contents.

Nothing!

I moved onto the cupboards, still nothing.

I was beginning to feel like Old Mother Hubbard; except I was hungry and not some stupid dog. I guess there's only food here when there's someone to eat it. I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, so all I could do was worry.

I stared out the window some more; just hoping the scenery would change, melt into something that was truly breathtaking. There was beauty here, but only if one likes green and grey; real sunshine would do a lot to improve this scene.

I wish I could speed up time, or at least make it seem like it's going faster, all the clocks seem to be taunting me, moving forewords only to move back again. A heavy sigh escaped my chest.

"Bored?" A voice chirped beside me. "There's nothing interesting outside that window, trust me." Alice successfully snuck up on me; not hard when my minds focused on a million things at once.

"Bored," I replied not moving my eyes off the window, "but mostly worried."

"About?" Alice said standing closer to me, "I already know, but it's always nice to get things off your chest." She winked. Her reflection looked ethereal in the crystal window.

"Tonight – I always get like this before a fight. I run through all the terrible possibilities: who's going to die, will my number be up tonight. It must be silly to you, but it's all too real for me." I've only been completely honest with two people in my, admittedly short, life: Katherine and now Alice. Anyone else would get a varying degree of my macho male exterior.

"What if I told you no one was going to die?" Alice asked placing a reassuring hand on my back.

"Wouldn't help, I would think of all the possible ways that you could be wrong." I replied putting my hand around her shoulders.

"Okay, what if I told you that you were going to die?" She asked pulling me closer.

"That would be a relief, at least I would know, for sure." I paused, a bird landed on one of the nearest trees, "I would also get a chance to say goodbye." I resisted the urge to kiss her, there was too big of a chance of getting caught.

"It's a shame you're not going to then." Alice said with a shit-eating grin, "Even if I saw it, I wouldn't let it happen."

"So you would do everything in your power?" I asked not really wanting to hear the answer, "I do mean _everything_."

"Yes, absolutely everything."

"Would that include turning me?" I said dreading either answer. If she said no, she would be willing to let me die; if she said yes – that's a can of worms I don't even want to think about.

"You don't want me to answer that question." She violently shook her head side to side, "you'll hate me if I tell you the truth." I could plainly feel her pain, she saw my reaction either way, and I couldn't imagine it was pretty.

I pulled her as close to me as I could, "Do what you think is right. I trust you."


	25. Chapter 25

***Inhales deeply* Can you smell the end a brewin'? I can…maybe because I wrote it already. Don't worry I'm not going to drop the ball on anyone. Well the newest chapter is now officially posted, so I'll leave you guys and gals (I'm not sexist) to reading. Oh and if you feel all warm and fuzzy inside drop me a review I will appreciate it.

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Chapter 25

If anyone claims to be a master of killing moments they've obviously never met me; I can kill any moment faster than I can kill an iPhone (whatever that is.) Most of the time it's a bad thing; killing romantic moments, my specialty. This time I was attempting to kill a rather sad and depressing moment, these are much harder moments to kill; like trying to kill an elephant with a bb gun.

"So where is everyone else?" I said trying to change the tone of the room, and like wise murder the current moment.

"Don't play that game with me! I want to know what you mean by: 'do what you think is right.'" She said refusing to let me go, she may be tiny, but she's a lot stronger than I am.

"There's no other meaning behind it," are all women this crazy or only the immortal ones? "All I meant was; if something happens to me I want you to do what you think is right."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Her voice was intense and filled with anger and confusion, but still soft and alluring.

"That if I'm dying; remember dying, not dead; than I want you to do what you think is the best choice, for both of us. Meaning get me to a doctor, let me die, or change me. The decision is yours, because I love and trust you enough to make it." I kept my voice soft and even; my life is dangerous, Alice can take care of herself, but sooner or later we will be faced with this dilemma. "Now seriously where is everyone else?"

Alice gave me a cold look before disappearing from the room at a speed only she could manage. I'd said a lot of things wrong, but if the decision was left up to me I think I would always choose death; it would be the easy thing to do, like running away from all of my problems. I ran away from my family, I ran away from Harry, I ran away from Katherine, and when I couldn't handle where I ran to, I ran away from it too.

Five hours eighteen minutes.

Five hours and eighteen minutes to think, to worry, and to kick myself square in the ass for all the shit I just put myself into. I could go talk to her, tell her where I'm coming from, or I could do what I did best; run away.

I ripped my grey cloak from around my shoulders, leaving me feeling – naked; I tossed it on the back of one of the dining room chairs heading straight for the front door. No one tried to stop me, Luccio was still meditating in the corner of the dining war room and Harry was asleep and snoring on the couch; I swung the door open and started running without bothering to shut it behind me. I didn't care if anyone knew where I'd gone, I'm not that hard to find; especially for someone who can see the future.

The air was colder than I remembered it being and rain was starting to come down harder, the asphalt was slick underneath my feat and the road was blurry, a black line against the painfully grey day. I couldn't really tell if my eyes were blurry from the rain, or from tears I didn't know I had, I had this vision of Alice, not a real vision, doing the same thing, running through the forest away from the pain and the stupidity that was me. I can't imagine what kind of fallout was going to come from this, six angry vampires wasn't a good thing.

I ran faster, my legs began to burn beneath me in protest. I knew I should have saved my strength for tonight, but that didn't stop me from running harder and faster; the frigid raid stung where it hit me in the face. I ran without care where I was going, I left the road and began to travel into the dense forest around me. I didn't care where I was going; it didn't matter just as long as I was alone when I got there. I had to slow my frantic pace to maneuver around the fallen trees and rotten logs, in this area there weren't even animal trails to follow, I just followed the easiest terrain.

I slowed down to a light jog, before stopping completely in the center of a big clearing carpeted with soft green grass that seemed to defy the heavy dark green of the trees around me. On the opposite end of the clearing was a small brook swelled with the recent rainfall, in the center was throne made from a large boulder smoothed by the constant wind and rain inviting me to sit and think.

I strode over to my new throne, ignoring the freezing drops of the winter rain around me, and gently sat; the water pooling on the rock soaked through my pants instantly, causing an involuntary shiver. My legs were already beginning to stiffen from the running, my heart was pounding rhythmically in my ears and out of my chest as a beacon to all those who could hear. It would only be a matter of time before someone would find me out here. I braced myself for the inevitable confrontation, which one would it be? Doesn't matter really, I'm screwed any way.

I extended my magical sense around me, covering as much area as I could; behind me a familiar cold spot approached, the tell tale sign that a vampire was coming closer. My face flushed with anger, mostly at myself; now of all times I had to bring up my mortality.

"I know you're there, so don't bother trying to sneak up on me." I said, mostly to the near freezing raid that continued to fall, further soaking my already we clothes.

"How dare you say that to Alice," an ice cold voice all but yelled behind me. "She loves you, why I don't know."

"Right now I'm not sure either, so if you're here to kick my ass for it you're too late." I spat not bothering to face her. She was slowly moving around the rock, it had to be Rosalie, the one person in that coven that I truly disliked from the very beginning.

"She wasn't this upset when you killed Jasper!" She spat, eyes burning into me. She was more soaked than I was, of course being inhumanly beautiful, she pulled off the look better than I could.

"I'm. An. Idiot!" I said like I was a tourist trying to communicate with the locals. "It doesn't matter what you say, I already feel like total shit." My anger seethed into my voice. Who cares if I piss off another person?

"You are an idiot! You have no idea how hard it is for her to realize every second of every day that you're mortal!" She said standing in front of the rock; her hands balled at her sides; never moving an inch.

"I know that better than you think," I said running a hand through my hair. "That's why I don't want the choice, because I would choose death, because I'm selfish. That's why when my number comes up I want her to make the call, not because I don't want to, because I trust her with my life. I don't trust anymore, I can't. I'm more broken than you will ever know."

"You don't realize what that means to her, she loves you enough that she doesn't want to take the selfish route either." Her words cut straight through me. My jaw dropped with realization, my anger evaporated immediately; it wasn't until that moment that I realized how much I loved her, and how much she loved me.

"I really am an idiot aren't I?"

"I won't argue with you." She said overlapping.

I continued as if she didn't say anything; "I only thought about how hard the decision would be for me. I never once considered how hard it would be for her to make the same decision."

God bless her, she didn't say a word. I sat in silence, beginning to get chilled with the rain. I had plenty of time to reflect on all the idiotic things I'd said later, right now I needed to get back before I was too sick to fight tonight. I reached my hand into my pocket fishing for my new toy, it was still in there. I stood up from the throne of rock that I'd been sitting on, legs burning beneath me. Running was a bad idea; I'll add it to my list once I get back.

"Where is she?" I asked quietly as I fumbled with my little cheetah statue, my legs still protesting my legs beneath me.

"She's right here." Alice said lowly coming from behind the rock, she'd heard everything I'd said.

"I'll leave you two alone." She said before running off to the forest.

"I'm sorry." I said with my head hung low; slumping down to the cold grass. "I was wrong to think that…"

"It's okay," she sat down next to me, ever bit as soaked but her hair still managed to defy gravity, "we were both wrong. It's a hard choice to make, and one of us can't make it alone." She said gently resting her head into the crook of my shoulder.

"Whatever happens, don't let me become a Red Court." Fear now replaced anger in my voice as I absently stroked her hair.

"I won't," Alice said reassuringly, "I won't." She placed a short affectionate kiss on my cheek.

We sat in the cold rain for another hour, the cold seeping into every fiber of my being; I couldn't care less for the first time Alice felt warm against me. That was enough for me. The rain seemed to lighten up; the clouds began to lose the dark omnipotence that they once had; transforming into scattered white clouds. The sun remained hidden, taunting me with its elusive golden light.

"What did you mean when you said you were broken?" Alice asked eventually, breaking the silence.

"I've always had a problem letting people in, so when something terrible happens it stays inside, and it shatters me inside." I responded staring into the clouds.

"You let Harry in." She retorted, not missing a beat. A bead of water trickled down her cheek. If I hadn't known better I would have thought it was a tear.

"No, Harry let himself in to my head." I forced a rueful laugh. I leaned my head on hers before I spoke again. "I've let you in farther than anyone else. And I'll let you in all the way; I just have to do it at my own pace."

Alice didn't say anything; instead she leaned up and kissed me gently on the cheek. A gentle and wordless acceptance.

"We should get back." I whispered a few minutes.

"I know." Alice said not moving an inch.

"Seriously, I need to get ready, and you need to do whatever it is you do." I said trying to get my feet under me. Sitting in the exact same position stiffened up all the joints in my body and the freezing rain locked them in place. It hurt to move any muscle in my body.

I gingerly stretched out, feeling the hundreds of forming knots in my muscle. Alice sat back on the rock with a mischievous grin dancing across her face. "Would you like me to carry you back?"

"No, no, no, absolutely not; you promised." Harry would never, ever let me live that down if he saw her carrying me bridal style.

Her grin broke into a smile from ear to ear. She hoped off the rock and walked toward me; I instinctively backed up in a futile attempt to get away. Even with all the magic in that cheetah idol, I doubt I would be able to out run her for long.

In a flash she jumped into my arms wrapping her legs around my back, kissing me with complete abandon. I wrapped my hands around her neck, pulling her into me, kissing her back with just as much passion and abandon letting our tongues explore the other.

Two creatures dangerous to each other hanging on to what little control they had by a thin string.

I ran my hands down her hair, over her shoulders, reaching the area where her shirt met her pants; forcibly slipping my hands under her wet shirt raking my fingernails against her cold stone skin.

She broke the kiss far too suddenly for my taste leaving me searching for breath. I could feel her gaze bore into me, in a mixture of love and lust; I returned the look snaking my hands up her front.

"We can't, not now; someone's coming." Her voice was shaky, her control was almost gone.

I grudgingly pulled my hands out of her shirt, and with even more reluctance let her out of my arms. Down on the ground she gave me a quick kiss before she too disappeared into the forest, leaving me alone, again.

It wasn't long before I heard a pair of boots crunching through the forest a head of me. My muscles, still twisted in dense knots, were slowly loosening up. The heavy thudding of boots on the wet earth, told me it was Harry long before I ever saw the lanky bastard in his tacky leather duster.

"What did you say?" He said patronizing me.

"Who said I said anything bad," I said defensively, "I brought up my mortality." I admitted immediately.

"Smooth move ex-lax." He said giving me a hard slap on the back, "It's a rookie mistake when dating an immortal."

"Now you tell me, you couldn't have given me that piece of advice when I was with Katherine?" I said returning the hard slap.

"Well good golly gosh, you never asked." He said sarcastically walking away.

"I didn't ask this time either," I said turning to follow him toward the road.

"I know, this time it's free." He said waving hand behind him in acceptance.

I didn't realize it at the time, but I'd run better than a mile and a half in from the edge of the forest, over really bad terrain; it was a wonder I didn't break a leg on some of the moss covers rocks that had my foot prints on them. Once we got to the road Emmet's giant jeep greeted me.

"It seems I got a loner of my own." He said climbing in, "Get in we don't have a ton of time before sunset."

I moved into the passenger seat, my drenched clothes squishing against the seat. The tarp like plastic cover that most sane people put over jeeps when it rains was noticeably absent letting the cold air freeze my clothes more than they were already.

We had less than two and a half hours of daylight left when we pulled into the driveway of La Maison du Cullen.

That's right I know Shakespeare and French, suck it.

I had less than an hour to start my pre-battle ritual. Something I've done long before tonight and something I will continue long after tonight's over with.

Harry and I entered through the front door; the house was still pretty empty; Luccio hadn't moved an inch since I left, her breathing was in perfect rhythm, her face that normally showed lines of worry were gone leaving the twenty something body looking peaceful. The only other person in the house was Alice, managing to relax in front of the TV watching on old black and white movie I didn't recognize I caught her eye, she stirred slightly and gave a coy smile. She'd already changed into another skin tight black shirt and matching pants.

I couldn't help but smile back; keeping one weary eye on the captain's still form that fortunately remained still.

She got up from the couch and lithely danced over to me. Keeping my body between Luccio and Alice, I grabbed her hand kissing it gently. "What are you watching?" I whispered.

"Gaslight," she answered not missing a beat, "Nineteen forty-four, Charles Boyer, and Ingrid Bergman. C'mon and watch it with me?" She said giving my arm a fake tug.

"Nah, I need to go shower and get ready for tonight." I said slipping arm away from her hands, walking towards the stairs and the hot water that awaited me.

Alice started to follow after me, Harry's hand clasped down on to her shoulder, "Don't bother." I heard him say as I reached the stairs, "He never let's anyone in on the ritual, not me, not even Katherine. Between you and me, I think he just spanks the monkey."

Alice burst out into a fit of her sweet musical laughter. I let out a short laugh myself. Harry couldn't be more wrong.


	26. Chapter 26

**Authors Note: I hope everyone (in America) had a good Independence Day. And since I'm not in the mood to write more in this note; please enjoy.

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Chapter 26

The reason I've never told anyone about my pre-battle ritual is it's incredibly boring. I take a slow shower, rarely with hot water; I dress in whatever clothes I feel are going to be lucky; then I sit in the corner and go through the battle in my head, over and over and over again, focusing only on things going right for a change. It's the one time where I manage to push out all my worries and look at everyone coming back tired, but smiling and completely whole. If I don't, I have absolutely no confidence that anyone will come back at all, much less unharmed.

After all the bull shit; I whip out my cock and just hammer it home until I can barely walk.

Just kidding.

I couldn't resist.

Really after I'm finished I try to do something to take my mind off the upcoming fight; sometimes I read, sometimes I watch a movie, other times I just sit and stare out the window. Today I did the latter, and it worked; I watched the sun streak across the sky (of course it was hidden behind a constant layer of clouds) and completely forgot about the fight that was waiting for me just outside the door.

Fifteen minutes before the sun set and we were supposed to leave I left the safe confines of my mind and rejoined everyone in the dining war room. The mood was tense, but there wasn't any internal tension. Thank God, because the last thing I wanted to see was Luccio on the ground with her staff raised threatening the Ice Queen who has one sword trained on Harry and another on Alice, who in turn has Slabs by the throat, while he's trying to open a stuck jar of pickles.

You laugh, but I've seen stranger things than that.

Everyone was doing a final check of their gear, Luccio and Harry with their staves and pistols, and the Cullens' with their shiny new swords and nothing else really. Looks like I'm late to a party. I belted my own rapier around my waist looking for conformation from everyone else. The way everyone looked back unnerved me, they were all really following my lead, all these people who have decades more experience than I do and they look to me.

It's just weird!

Like earlier this afternoon I summoned my staff to me with an effort of will. It flew across and into my hand; I didn't feel like crossing the room with everyone staring at me just to grab my staff.

I took a deep breath feeling the comforting smoothness of the wooden staff in my hands. That sounded a little sexual didn't it? What I mean is that it was nice to have the feel of familiar wood in my hand. Son of a bitch, I did it again.

Whatever, my staff made it into my hands from the other side of the room. There, that shouldn't be completely full of sexual innuendos; or maybe it is and I'm not realizing it.

In. Staff. Hand. Now. There that's the only way I think I can say that without implying something vaguely sexual.

"Everyone ready," I said slinging a band of leather around the top and bottom of my staff, making it easier to carry, "besides me."

"Um Aaron," Harry said, keeping his distance from me, "You're not wearing any pants."

What does he mean I'm not wearing any pants? Of course I'm wearing pants, unless I'm dreaming, and since Katherine's not here I must not be dreaming so that means I'm wearing pants. That's called a hypothetical syllogism… probably.

I didn't want to give his wild accusation any credence so I didn't look down right away. I looked to everyone else's attentive eyes, before giving my legs a side ways look; trying my damndest to make sure that no one would notice if I was checking the situation with my pants.

I'll be damned.

Harry was right.

I wasn't wearing pants, how embarrassing. I was standing in a room with a bunch of people who I thought were looking up at me; technically they were, but only to avoid looking at the black satin boxers with the breathable cotton crouch panel.

They are my lucky pair; I do not want to hear it!

"I'll be right back." I said trying to scrape together the shreds of my dignity, failing miserably in the process. I casually walked up the stairs attempting to ignore the shushed snickers behind me.

How the bloody hell did I forget to put pants on? Boxers, check; t-shirt, check; long-sleeved shirt, check; socks, check; old combat boots, check. How the hell did I miss the glaringly obvious detail of not having pants on?

When I got back to my pants, it took me two tries to put pants on the right way. The first time I was in such a rush that I put them on backwards; try zipping those up. The second try went better; I was able to pull them up over my boots the right way. I buckled my sword into place and ran back to the awaiting stairs.

Back down stairs Harry greeted me with a thunderous round of applause he was hoping would catch on.

It didn't, but no one stopped him.

"Are we ready now?" I asked pushing my way through the crowd to the front door, not waiting for a response.

The sun was just beginning to set when I left the seemingly safe house, sending a ripple of dull red light through the increasing cloud cover. The rain hadn't started again, but around here rain is never far off; hopefully it would hold off until after the fight.

There were two things Harry taught me on my first day as his apprentice; one spells never last past dawn, and two running water is a wizard's worst enemy. Rain is running water in its most basic form, and it has a nasty habit of ruining most spells. Evocation, combat magic, is one of the few exceptions; any wizard who earned the title of warden has learned how to work in the rain. Fire magic is still affected; after the spell it released and fire is created it behaves just like regular fire. Imagine that.

Three cars were parked out front, Emmet's jeep, Alice's Porsche, and a black Mercedes that I'd only seen in the garage; they were parked convoy style the Mercedes in the middle, led by the Jeep, and followed by the Porsche. This was probably what everyone was doing while I was up trying to get ready; this time I feel like I dropped the ball, leaving my friends, my love, the two closest things to family I had, and Rosalie to pick up the slack.

I pulled my cloak against me tighter, shuddering as the wind whipped around me. I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't hear Harry walk up behind me.

It wasn't until he grabbed my shoulder asking, "You coming?" That I realized I wasn't alone out side anymore. Everyone was either climbing in their respective cars or already waiting in them. I started following Harry to the Jeep; he climbed into the driver seat, and started it up right away.

I started to climb in the back when Luccio, who was riding shotgun, looked at me weird, "Dresden said you and the seer would be taking the rear." She said clearly too uncomfortable in saying Alice's name, though I know she knew it.

"Sorry," I said climbing back down from the back of the Jeep, passing Harry I gave him a slight guy nod. He responded with a similar gesture.

Luccio suspected something, I was sure of it, but I wasn't convinced that she knew exactly what was going on.

Not being one to look a generous gift horse in the mouth I walked over to Alice's car and climbed in the passenger seat, keeping my staff between my legs. Not the most comfortable seating arrangement, but I at least got to ride into battle with the sexiest valkyrie in the world.

Alice flashed a devilish smile, turning the key in the ignition; her smile was contagious, soon we were both smiling like idiots going to our deaths. She shifted the car into drive and followed the Mercedes out of the drive. Suddenly her wicked smile turned to a pout, a cute pout, but a pout none the less, "I don't get to go fast."

"Sorry," I said taking her hand in mine. "When were finished you can drive as fast as you want back here."

"Okay," the smile came back to her beautiful face.

It's about sixty miles from Forks to Port Angeles; on a good day this translates to just under an hour, factor in the fact that the drivers aren't quite human and suddenly the estimate drops to forty minutes. Harry may not have the super human reflexes of the other drivers, but he can manage forty-five through Chicago, at rush hour; that counts for something.

Thirty-six minutes later I started seeing several exit signs for Port Angeles, that's good time in anybody's book considering the one-oh-one is only a two lane highway all the way. It wasn't a bad drive; the rain was still safely in the clouds, giving me hope that we might have the advantage.

The black car soundlessly zipped around the Jeep, just as planned. The Cullen's were going to the warehouse district where the Red Courters were most likely to be hiding. Under normal circumstances they would be at one of the hundreds of estates they owned across the US; but these weren't normal circumstances, they would be hiding. To draw the Red Court out into the open, each of our vampires carried a unit of near expired O positive and ammonia capsules to block out the smell.

Wait a minute, Alice was a Cullen; she should be going with them. "Aren't you going with your family?"

"You're going to need my help more than they are." She responded quietly. That didn't sound good, not that I minded terribly that she would be where I could keep an eye on her.

I didn't have time to ask what she meant.

A terrible crashing sound echoed through the cramped confines of the car. Ahead of us the jeep jerked to a violent stop, Alice aptly swerved to miss it, as if it was a planned move. She swerved to a stop feet from the wrecked Jeep and the tall man wrapped inside.

"Get out!" She shouted, before throwing her door open, and rolling out onto the wet asphalt.

The words hadn't registered in my brain when the roof of the Porsche caved in; the vampire was no longer in the midst of the smoldering Jeep, he right above me. I followed Alice's lead and rolled out of the Porsche, staff in hand. The seat belt caught in the hilt of my sword keeping me from getting out of the crushed car. I grabbed for my boot and the knife I kept inside, when my hand was stomped on, crunching every bone in my left hand. Pain flashed through my vision, and I let out a blood curdling scream. He reached down, grabbing my throat, another flash crossed my vision.

Then his head disappeared in a third brilliant white flash. His body fell across me, pinning me to the ground. A small figure appeared in the corner of my eye just as I managed to free my mangled hand. Where the hell was everyone, the second figure pounced onto the corpse of the first; her red eyes looked me over hungrily. The pain in my hand was still blinding, and now suffocation could be added to my discomfort.

The bitch on top of me hesitated too long. Through the pain I managed to focus enough to gather the magic for a simple spell, gritting my teeth I shouted, "Frozare." A blade of pure kinetic energy erupted from my hand throwing the corpse and the new bitch from me; buying me enough time to cut myself free.

I tried gripping my staff in my left hand, but I couldn't force my fingers to close. I had a choice, fight without my staff, or without my sword. I didn't have time to choose, I let my staff fall to the ground as I pulled my sword free from its scabbard. I was still on the flat of my back when the new girl; a short, blonde vampire no more than thirteen, pounced at blinding speed. In mid air another blur took her down, with a crack of thunder; Alice lithely danced away from the girls counter attack; before jumping on the poor girls shoulders.

A sickening crunch later, and the girl's lifeless body collapsed on the cold street, wicked red eyes open and lifeless.

I struggled to my feet, looking at the battle for the first time. Harry and Luccio were fighting back to back against three fast and agile vampires; each let off bright bursts of fire, completely missing every time.

There were more vampires around us than I'd thought there would be, where we estimated maybe ten, we were dealing with fifteen maybe. Most were standing on top of the low storefronts around us, watching, waiting, for the right time to pounce. Panic was seriously starting to set in, my heart was racing, threatening beat out of my chest; my chest rose and fell in rapid staccato breaths. My entire left arm protested every move I made; it worked down to the elbow and then stopped entirely.

Alice was dancing around the narrow streets, fighting two or three of them simultaneously dodging their attacks like a well choreographed ballet; she was fighting for me as well as her. That wasn't right. If I didn't get my head together and fast; then I was going to end up a giant squashed insect, if I was lucky.

I picked my staff up as well as I could, resting most of it in the crook of my arm, balancing part of it in my smashed hand. I closed my fingers around it as best as I could without passing out from the pain. In the end I looked like a knight getting ready for the joust. I whirled at the sound of crunching gravel to find another vampire, squat and thick with muscle, fifteen feet away from me, squatting on the asphalt ready to pounce. I leveled my staff at him, waiting for him to make the first move.

If I could hit him with fire at the same time then I could cut his head off before he could think. I didn't have to think about it I just knew. Way too many hours playing "Virtua Fighter" for my old Sega Saturn.

The muscled vampire lunged at me with blinding speed, mouth open snarling. The only thing I could see were his hate filled red eyes. I didn't waste a millisecond, I willed as much magic as I could through my staff shouting, "Fira!" A thin column of red fire escaped from the tip of staff; connecting right with his snarling mouth, the spell lost most of its power before it ever managed to get to through the staff.

The force of the fire stopped him long enough for me to see his grotesque face, charred with burns. Another stunned second later, his head lay on the ground next to lifeless body; a scowl permanently scarred his face. A pool of thick jellied blood slowly leaked from the decapitated body, and the disembodied head.

There's never anytime to rest in a real fight, it's not like boxing where after every round you get to sit and take a breather, get some water, and get your boo-boos looked at. The one vampire had barely hit the ground when two more jumped off the roof tops landing near me.

"Today just isn't my day," I mumbled shifting my staff to get a better grip.

Neither of them gave me a moment to react, they charged at me from two different directions, the adrenaline surged in my body giving me a few precious nanoseconds to breathe. I planted my feet willing into the shield bracelet that I'd almost forgotten to bring. A bright blue shield emerged in front of me in a perfect half dome, the one to my left, a bald middle aged man slammed in to the dome shaped shield, throwing me back into the jeep and out of the attack path of the second attacker, and unremarkable man that was in his thirties.

I may have escaped from my two attackers, but I had no shielding from the jeep behind me, the open door dug straight into my back; filling my ears with the sound of cracking ribs. A sharp pain shot through my back into my chest with the speed of lightning.

Lightning.

Why hadn't I thought of it before? I braced my staff against the back of the jeep, using it and the leather soles of my boots to ground me. I willed as much energy as I could into the spell, compensating for my diminishing lack of control.

"Levitas," I shouted raggedly. A bright white bolt of lightning escaped from staff, splitting off into two separate bolts in short order; followed by the loudest crack of thunder I'd ever heard.

The result was complete and utter chaos. The primary bolt continued forward throwing all of the electrical energy behind it into the skull of the thirty something man. The secondary bolt connected with the chest of my other target, a middle aged woman with dull auburn hair streaked with grey.

The first bolt blew the skull of the vampire apart into a million fragments of skull; throwing his lifeless body into a brick façade of the storefront behind him. The second, less powerful; bolt arched out knocking the woman back fifty feet into a heap of smoldering clothes, hair, and skin. My tunnel vision broke for the first time, giving me a brief view of the battle around me.

The lightning also focused every enemy's attention directly onto me, buying everyone a few golden moments to attack. Luccio took two steps forward and gutted two of the vampires that she'd been fighting in moves I'd only seen in old samurai movies. Harry managed to cook two more in a sweeping column of fire. Alice didn't need the distraction; five bodies were lying around her feet as she continued to dance around the street like a deadly ballerina fighting another.

I crossed the distance between me and my target as quick as I could with cracked ribs and a staff cradled in a broken wrist. The mosquito was still lying on the ground completely dazed. She let out a loud death moan as I plunged my blade through her cold lifeless heart.

I looked around the street seeing where the next threat would be coming form; the rooftops were clear, the streets were clear (the others were doing the same thing I was,) we were the only ones left on the streets.

"That was fun." I said to no one as I wiped my bloody sword on my cloak. I made my way back to the twisted wreckage of the jeep, sheathing my sword. "Anyone hurt…besides me." I collapsed next to the Jeep's front tire.

"Kid, I love having you around, you take the beatings normally reserved for me." Harry said standing over me smiling from ear to ear. I wanted to punch Harry right in his nose.

Mainly because he was right. At this point I didn't care, I wanted to sleep, and I wanted some damn Vicodin.

"Lemme look at your hand," Alice said after piling her bodies into a loose heap that Luccio was now burning.

I reluctantly gave her my hand, trying not to cringe as she gently took it. Even with her cold gentle hands the pressure was too much to handle. "It's going to need surgery." Alice said with a worrisome look.

"How do you know?" Anastasia said walking over from the ashen remains of the other vampires.

"Carlisle taught me how to diagnose a broken bone," she said gingerly pulling my sleeve up, exposing my bruised arm. "He thought it a good idea considering…" She stopped talking as I glared at her. The last thing we needed right now was to let the Captain know that there was a regular human involved with a family of vampires. "Considering something like this could happen tonight."

If I'd been on the pain killers I'd wanted to be on it the bruise would probably look like Jesus; here in the world of pain it's a perfect shoe print. "I don't think it's broken, I'm pretty sure it's crushed; if we wait too long it might become infected. If that happens he'll most likely lose the arm," She said gently looking at the underside

"Bullshit, I know you put a first aid kit in the back. Splint the arm, give me something for the pain, and duct tape my staff to my arm." I growled one step away from crying. It wasn't the most sound idea, but it was the most practical; if we had to fight anymore tonight.

"That's it," Alice said gently stroking the back of my hand, "No more fighting tonight, there were only twelve."

It wasn't over, with the Black Council it was never over. They would have at least two cards up each of their collective asses; something bad was going to happen, and it was going to happen very soon; I could feel it.

"Do it!" I shouted letting the pain and rage fill my voice. A brief flash of hurt crossed Alice's countenance, but she complied. She returned a moment later with the big red first-aid kit, and an alien look on her face. My heart felt just like my arm for snapping at her.

She mechanically began splinting my arm with the crap in the bag, her face a neutral mask hiding her pain. She handed me a pair of large white pills and a small bottle of water. I took them as she started to tape the staff in my hand, twisting and pulling just enough to let me know she was pissed. The end product was something that looked like it came out of a bad science fiction movie.

A moment later, a cell phone chirped. All eyes turned to Alice; she was the only one who carried a cell phone. "Yes," she answered, "Twelve. You guys got the fifteen. Ya it was noticeable, if fire wasn't enough, there was lightning and thunder too. Tell Rose she's going to have her work cut out for her on my Porsche let alone Emmet's jeep. Totaled probably. Okay we'll see you at home. Bye." She hung up the phone slipping it neatly in her back pocket.

"Looks like taping your arm was pointless." Her voice was cold and dripping with venom.

I answered her with barely a whisper that only she would hear, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you." I struggled to get up when I saw it. A shadow of a man jumping from one roof to another. No one else seemed to catch it, too bad, cracked ribs or no when it comes to a foot race I have an ace. I started chasing after the clichéd man in black.

I fished out my little statuette and gave chase with my staff clumsily swinging around and banging into my leg in an irregular cadence. I began willing some magic into my cheetah idol, not much, but enough that I could close the distance with whatever was running away and still have some energy for the inevitable fight.

My legs began picking up speed of their own, and matching strength to go with it; I ran to the edge of one of the buildings on the street and jumped to the roof without thinking, my legs just reacted. The cloaked man was still ahead of me but losing ground to my enhanced speed. I poured more magic into my figurine, it started burning into my hand; if I pressed it much further it was going to melt, expelling all of the energy that I'd put into it. I didn't how many little one story stores this place had, whoever was leading me was doing a damn good job of separating me from the others, and if Alice hadn't seen him before, it was unlikely that she was going to see me if I was with him.

The dark figure jumped down into an alley at the edge of the building, jumping into the dark, I followed after him.

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**Feel free to review. I'm not going to stop you.**


	27. Chapter 27

Note d'Auteur: This chapter is rather sort, but it needs to be, I promise to update soon though. As always please enjoy this chapter. Oh and please feel free to drop me a review.

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Chapter 27

I should have looked before I leaped.

Turns out that expression is something that people should actually pay attention to; instead of doing what everyone does and say it at corny times when it means nothing.

Had I been thinking and looked down into the alley, I would have seen a swirling black orb of energy before I fell into it. When I did see it, it was too late for me to do anything but fall head long into the void.

For a moment I was scared, and then the simple fear was replaced by pure unadulterated terror. I entered the vortex feet first, I landed flat on my face pinned to the floor by some unseen force. Whoever I chased stood over me in a billowing black robe, his face obscured by a matching dark hood. All I could make you from underneath his hood were two grey eyes, and a pallid face.

"If it isn't the supposedly great Aaron Marsdon, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintanceship." He spoke in a snide tone that hinted at a German accent.

"I never thought of myself as great, God like maybe, but never great." I said struggling to get up, and failing miserably.

"It seems that Dresden taught you his level of arrogance and contempt of those more powerful." He chided pacing around to my broken hand and the staff taped to it. "Seems like that leech whore of yours is good for something after all." He stomped down on my broken arm.

A mixture of pain and fury made their way into my throat as I screamed out. The bastard picked his foot off my broken arm, laughing. "I bet there is a lot you want to ask me. Tell you what, I'll let you ask any question you want, and I swear I'll answer it truthfully. How's that?" His voice trailed off.

I was silent for a moment trying to focus on anything but the pain in my arm. "I'll ask you again, what is it you want to ask me?" He shouted kicking me sharply in my cracked ribs. Another rage filled scream escaped from my body shaking it down to my core.

"What did you do to the vampire?" I shouted in protest, panting hard; the pain in my chest keeping me from being able to really breathe.

"I give you free rein to ask any question you want: about whom I am and whom I work for and you ask about the leech's former mate. How touching." His voice was cold and still snide. If I wasn't going to kill him for what he'd done to me already, than I was surely going to kill him for talking about Alice that way.

"Very well, if you insist. It wasn't very hard to twist his mind, it was mostly there any way; he never was truly able to curb his lust for blood like the others. The only thing that kept him alive was his love for that bloodsucking slut." My anger was coming to a head, he can insult me, he can torture me, hell he can kill me for all I care; but he will not insult My Alice.

"I started slowly; I found him one night and told him the woman he loved was in danger, just to wet his appetite. Slowly, over the course of many months I found him hunting all by himself. He thought I was a ghost. I told him that what was happening with the human girl and his supposed brother would eventually get him killed. He didn't care about himself; his only concern was of the girl."

"I convinced him that his 'wife' was going to die first, and soon if he didn't stop it. It took almost twice as long to nudge him into stopping it. He was reluctant at first, talking about how he would die; until I told him that it was either him or the girl. He was compliant after that." He finished just as cold and evenly as he began.

"Bull. Shit." I spat out, earning another kick in the ribs for my trouble. "You don't have the patience to do it; you enthralled him and commanded him to kill anyone or anything that got in his way. That's why he attacked me instead of running around me."

"I told you what your whore would want to hear, but yes that's how it really happened." He said setting his voice to charm. "And because you wasted your one question and since you won't be leaving this meeting her alive. I'll give you the answer to the question you didn't ask. Why did Mab take such an interest in Katherine?" It was bad enough that he dragged Alice into this, but Katherine too. As soon as I got free I was going to hang him upside down, by his toenails and skin him alive with a rusty spoon.

"If you think that The Queen of Air and Darkness takes an interest in every Winter changeling you are sadly mistaken. In fact we didn't tell her at all." Who was this 'we' he was referring to? "We told her daughter Maeve that there was a particularly powerful changeling in Missouri, we gave her Katherine's name, and the Winter Lady did the rest."

"So yes, we _made_ you kill her." His face slowly cracked to show an evil smile, complete with a set of crooked yellow teeth. "Now if you excuse me, I have better things to do."

He turned and began to walk towards the edge of the maelstrom of energy. Stopping suddenly he said, "Oh I almost forgot to introduce you to Blanka." With a snap of his fingers a portal to Faerie opened and a woman walked through.

I shouldn't call her a woman; she was a vampire, Red Court, there was no doubt. Blanka towered over Black Cloak, with a flowing mane of strawberry blonde hair that trickled down her back; her skin mask, hiding the slimy bat that was her real form, was simply gorgeous.

She stalked up to me with the grace of a runway model, almost as graceful as Alice. A cruel smile crossed her lips exposing her glistening white fangs and the world's worst narcotic. My mouth went dry.

"I'll leave you two to play." Black Cloak said stepping through the portal, closing it behind him. As he closed the portal, the swirling vortex or dark energy dissipated leaving us painfully alone.

"Why don't you stand up?" Blanka cooed.

I didn't stand, staying glued to the ground.

"That wasn't a request." She said yanking me up by the hair. "You have to admit that this is much, much better." Blanka pulled me in front of her shapely fake form. She calmly moved her hand from my hair, clamping it down harshly over my mouth. "You don't need to this do you?" Her fingernails cut the tape like a knife, letting my staff clatter to the floor.

"Now the real dilemma: what do I do with you?" She purred into my ear, "Should I kill you, turn you, or take you prisoner. Anything I choose I still get a huge reward." Her breath sent chills down spine.

"mmph hmm!" I tried to protest. I reached for my sword with my good hand.

"We can have none of that." She scolded, like she was talking to a small child. Cruelly she twisted my right hand behind me, pushing it just to the point where it was just about to break.

Blanka gently forced my head back, exposing my neck, and all the blood flowing just under the surface. Running nose along the base of my throat, "Mmmm, you do smell delicious." She purred into my ear. "Except for that stench of the Rose Court bitch on you."

"Oh yes," she said responding to something I didn't say, "We created the Rose Court to cure all of our weaknesses, but the creatures were defective! The idiots were too violent; they couldn't live in the world, so we exterminated all of them, or at least we should have. A handful managed to escape, and repopulate the species." She gently traced her inhuman lips across my throat ever so careful to not let a drop of venom touch my throat.

"What would you like?" She said loosening her grip slightly from my mouth. "Keep in mind that I get to make the real decision, but I always like help."

"Go. To. Hell. Bitch." I all but screamed through the loose screen of fingers around my mouth.

"It's unfortunate that you have to be like this; life's more fun with audience participation." She squeezed my mouth shut again, quietly shushing my protests. "This won't take very long. It will all be over soon."

I shut my eyes preparing for the worst, as she slowly opened her mouth, exposing the four inch fangs and the toxic venom that went along with it. I evened out my breathing preparing for the dull pain, the loss of blood, and the end. She leaned down gently placing her mouth on my neck, before I realized what was going on there was a sharp pain in my back that began sliding all the way across to the other side.

And then nothing, save for darkness and the absence of feeling.


	28. Chapter 28

**Author's Note: Sorry no note this time, just sit back, relax and enjoy.

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Chapter 28

I came to sometime in the morning, my head cradled in Alice's cold hands. My wrist and arm in a cast, and a brace of bandages around my ribs. I smiled weakly at Alice's still face; she smiled back, gently stroking the top of my head lovingly. I reached up and gently kissed her. Last night was mostly a blur, I remember my wrist being stomped on, and cracking my ribs, other than that just bits and pieces. Something about a wrecked car, a man running across a rooftop, but I remembered nothing more.

Over the next few days things were back to normal, well as normal as they ever are with me; I pretended to be a regular high school student, all be it a British one. Aaron Brown flew back a week before graduation so he could attend his own graduation in Maidstone, or wherever the hell he was from. I was glad that I was finally able to stop pretending, and be Aaron Marsdon again. I enjoyed the feeling of normalcy while it lasted, and made the decision to put wizarding and wardening on hold and finally go to college. I have plenty of time to do both in my life; something has to occupy four hundred years. I still wanted to try the professional wizard thing; almost a necessity with all the expensive technology everywhere. Thanks to my high school transcripts, SAT scores, and a new Cullen wing of the library; Alice and I will be attending Princeton in the fall.

Jessica got into contact with Alicia and began her training on weekends; starting during the summer she would be in training full time. Wizard Harris told me that she may not be of White Council strength, but even if she wasn't she would be one hell of a Kinetomancer. Her ability to use raw energy exceeded mine in a few months. I'm glad I didn't wait, she was a time-bomb; it was only a matter of time before she broke a law. It was a great and wonderful feeling getting to someone before they break a law and get themselves killed. I never told her that the Cullen's were vampires; there was no real need for her to know, and it wasn't my secret to give away. I'm pretty sure she still had a crush on me by the end of my time in Forks, but she never tried anything, if she did Alice would have probably ripped her head clean off.

Bella was changed the night of her graduation, much to the relief of her new family; there had been enough drama caused because she was human. I excused myself, naturally, during the time she was changed; I was a warden after all, and that means that I'm supposed to protect humans, not stand around, and watch them become a vampire. Alice stayed with her best friend as she went through what; I'm told is a very painful process. I went and visited with Harry in Chicago. It was good to see everyone that I'd missed since I'd run off to Arizona.

I got a chance to catch up with Karin, meet Molly in all of her punk rock glory (Harry sure knows how to get the oddball apprentices.) I also got a chance to go to Billy, excuse me William, and Georgia's biweekly game night and nerd it up a little bit. Harry tried to convince me to go see my parents and assure them that I'm still alive, but I haven't been able to forgive them for doubting me.

Chicago hasn't changed much, but I managed to avoid getting dragged into one of Harry's semiannual crisis; if I had I would have pulled his ass out of the fire. Hey, he did it for me in February; it would have been rude for me to run off (again.) Harry forgot to tell Luccio that I was coming, so she showed up with some romantic plan on her mind. The look on her face when I opened Harry's door was priceless, I would give my left testicle for a picture of it. I even got a chance to talk to Carlos while I was there, he was still shaken about his friend; which was understandable, and I know I wouldn't be able to deal with it.

I did visit Katherine's mother, she was as sweet as she always was. She had a feeling that what happened between the two of us was pretty much fate. In the end she forgave me; and reaffirmed my belief that Katherine would have wanted me to move on and find someone else to love.

Before I went back to Forks, I visited my old stomping grounds in Arizona; that was a painfully short trip that involved only a quick trip to a high school and a cemetery. The only two things I had a connection too down there.

When I got back Bella was a fully fledged vampire, and as inhumanly perfect as every other vampire in that house. She could barely handle having me in the same house for more than a few hours. I didn't mind being the only one with a heartbeat in the house. The story around town was that Bella and Edward eloped in Vegas, something that only a small town could come up with.

Before all of this I never realized that there was a treaty (although unofficial) between the Cullen vampires and the Indian werewolves. I was asked, rather forcefully, to help renegotiate it. The wolves were up in arms, saying that it was a violation to bite a human, and blah, blah, blah. It was kind of like trying to get dogs and cats to agree that they wouldn't try and kill each other anymore (in the metaphor the werewolves were the cats and the vampires were the dogs; I tried to think up a more creative metaphor but I'm just too tired). At the end of the meeting, which I held in Accorded Neutral Territory; the wolves were pissed, the vampires were pissed, and I was so exhausted I wanted to give a blowjob to a shotgun. That's a euphemism for blowing my head off (pun intended.)

And of course there was Alice. What can I say there? After a start so rocky Sly Stallone would have avoided it (yes I made a Rocky reference,) we fell into a comfortable and loving routine. After a brilliant idea by yours truly we had a small cabin built on the Cullen's land so we could have our own space, which was one hundred percent wizard proof. Candles instead of lights, an icebox instead of a real refrigerator, books instead of a TV, and even a little place where I could do some research (I tried moving my stuff out of the lighthouse but Alice didn't like the smell of my potions). There was also a large bedroom with a well used bed in it, if you get my drift.

Thanks to Alice being there I was finally able to put Katherine behind me, except for a picture of her that I put on the nightstand, after all I still had a promise to keep, Alice understood and kept a picture of Jasper right next to her, maybe in some weird way they could be there for each other. Dreams of Katherine were fewer and further between, though I still do have dreams of her, but these are happy and light, not the miserable one's I'd been having for three years. For the most part my dreams were of Alice, and a life we would never have; a house, kids, growing old together, but they aren't sad, not in the least.

I still don't know how she found out, but Alice made a huge deal about my twenty-second birthday; complete with streamers, cake, balloons, and gifts. The most spectacular of which, from Alice of course, was an old 1955 Rolls Royce coop; because a simple car wouldn't have sufficed. For the first time in now four years I had a real family, just one I couldn't tell the Council about if they ever asked. The other gifts included a new tailored robe and stole for Council meetings from Esme; three books that were just as old as Carlisle, from Carlisle; and a random assortment of magical supplies from everyone else. It was hands down the best birthday I can remember, and if it happens again I'll murder Alice in her sleep! I hate celebrating my birthday; it just seems too selfish, especially since I can't return the favor. Stupid vampires and their non-birthdays.

I'm happy, really happy, truly happy; the kind of happiness that let me capture sunlight; something I'd never thought I'd be able to do. Ever.

I guess this is where my story ends, at least for now. I have no doubt I'll be in some serious trouble in the future, but now I have someone in my life who can predict these things.

Right now all I had to worry about were four small puncture wounds that constantly trickled blood.

Wait, that can't be right. I haven't cut myself, in months.

The blackness came back in. In an instant the perfect world I'd been living in came crashing down. No cabin, no Rolls, no college; just pure bliss. I was floating in a bright white void of ecstasy. I could hear voices around me, but I didn't care, I didn't want to respond, I just wanted revel in the bliss, and I did. For an eternity I didn't have to do anything, be anyone, I just had to be happy. I was slowly drifting off into a nice happy place, of sleep.

"Aaron, Aaron, wake up! Please wake up!" A distant voice shouted from so far away it was too easy to ignore. It was warm where I was, and it felt cold where I wasn't. I didn't want to go to the cold.

I opened my eyes gently, "Alice, long time no see," I said cheerily.

"What's wrong with him?" Alice said to someone I couldn't see.

"Red Court venom, it's the most powerful narcotic in the world." Another voice I couldn't see or care about said; it was a she, maybe my mom. I hopped it was my mom, I miss her. I sat back playing with Alice's hair, it seemed extra soft and silky tonight. "What's worse is that it's happened to him before."

"Aaron, can you hear me." A face leaned over me. I recognized the face, he had two black eyes. There's only one person I know who seemed to always have two dark black eyes.

"Well if it is isn't Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden, named after three different magicians and a city in Germany!" I slurred in my ecstasy. "Whatcha guys up to!"

"It's bad." The other voice said, "The next month is going to be terrible. The withdrawals could kill him." Whoever the other voice was he or she or it placed a cold hand on my forehead, "He's already getting a fever. Aaron, how are you feeling?" This voice was a major buzz kill, I don't like her; even if it is my mom.

They were talking about me, I know, they were using my name. "Good." I replied.

"Is there anything we could do?" Allie sounded serious, she was frowning. I'm pretty sure this is what it feels like to be five. Why did we ever want to grow up? Being five feels awesome!

"Not now. In about twelve hours he'll start going through withdrawals. Sedation wouldn't be a bad idea." The voice said again; she sounded mad. I didn't care, Allie's hair felt good.

I felt a sharp prick in the arm, and everything went heavy and dark. It was a warmer feeling, like a big heavy blanket being wrapped around me.

"Let's go, there's nothing more we can do right now," The weird woman's voice said. "Alice, let him rest."

Through a haze of sleepiness I saw Alice's face scrunched up, "This happened because he was trying to help people he didn't know, the least I can do is stay with him."

I don't remember what happened next, I think I fell asleep. I like sleep, it's nice and warm, like my blanket.

I do remember that the good feelings I had started to fade away, and before long were replaced by pain. Lots of pain.

My eyes snapped open, without my control, the room was dark around me. The only thing I remember doing was screaming until my voice was raw. Sweat dripped down my forehead, cascading down my face and into my eyes. The sting of the salt in my eyes was nothing compared to the exquisite pain in every single muscle fiber in my body.

"Venom!" I tried to shout in my ragged voice, I had no voice left; it came out a ragged whisper.

I don't know how long I was there in that bed with my hands and feet tied to the bed, all I knew was that I was in pain and I knew how to make it stop.

"Shh, it's alright. Everything will be all right." A soft voice broke through the pain; it was the same voice that had stayed by me while I was sleeping. I tried to see where the voice was coming from, but the room was too dark and it was spinning.

I wanted to scream, but I couldn't; my voice wouldn't work, the one thing I had to help me cope with the pain was taken from me. I wanted to cry, to scream, to punch something; I just wanted to do something to give me something beside pain.

"Aaron, I know it hurts, please try and relax." Her cold hand rested gently on my forehead. Who was she and who's Aaron?

"Who, are you?" I asked weakly in a hoarse voice. Aaron? I think that was my name, why couldn't I remember my name. Was I dreaming? I couldn't be dreaming, no dream was this painful.

"It's me, it's Alice." The voice, Alice, sounded confused.

Was I supposed to know who she was? Her name, Alice, it sounded familiar like something out of a dream; that's what she was, a dream, a figment of my imagination, a vague memory. The blinding pain made it hard to concentrate long enough to think of where I knew her from.

"Where's Blanka?" I asked in the same weak and hoarse voice. A pain in my stomach erupted and I started to heave. I was throwing up, but there was nothing left in the pit of my stomach to throw up anymore.

"Who's Blanka?" She, Alice, asked. Why was it so hard to remember this gentle angel's name?

"Blanka, my sire." I whispered, "Would you please get her for me?" Blanka could make my pain go away, she knew how to. Alice didn't, she tried, but she doesn't know what to do.

"I can't sweetheart, she's not around anymore." Alice's voice was sad, was I hurting her to be in this kind of pain? Why was Alice here when Blanka wasn't? I needed Blanka to be here, she was my everything. "It's time to sleep now, try and rest." Alice's voice was so soft, so sweet. Why was she being nice to me, when I didn't even know who she was; but I wanted to?

I barely felt the sharp prick in my arm through the haze of pain I was in.

Then sleep overcame me, and the pain.

When I awoke there were big grey clouds in the sky and rain was trickling down the windows in steady beads. I felt like I'd been asleep for days, or weeks maybe; however long it was it was a weird sensation, knowing that I'd been asleep for a long time and had no memory of it, no dreams, no nightmares, nothing. Nothing, in every single sense of the word, nothing. My wrist was in a cast up to my elbow, and there were a few bandages around my ribs.

Where was I? I knew that I was on a bed, a large overstuffed bed in an even larger bedroom wrapped in several blankets and comforters. The room, the bed, the walls, even the scenery outside; I didn't recognize any of it. I let my eyes adjust to this new level of light, as I slowly scanned the room around me. There was only one thing that looked even remotely familiar. A girl, pale as the sheets around me, with short hair spiked in such a manner that seemed to defy gravity. She was facing away from me, towards the window and the rain behind it.

She must have heard the scuffling of sheets as I sat up in bed; she turned away from the window to face me. A smile broke across her face when she saw me sitting up. She crossed the room with remarkable and inhuman speed. She threw herself onto the bed and held me in a tight embrace. Why, I didn't know.

"Welcome back," she said in voice with unmistakable happiness, "How do you feel?"

"Confused." I replied in a low mumble, "who are you?"

My question took her by surprise, she recoiled out of my arms a tidal wave of pain slamming into her delicate features?

"Don't be upset." I said quickly, "you seem so familiar, but I can't seem to remember your name."

There was a measure of relief reflected in her liquid gold eyes. "I'm Alice," her voice was soft and had lost all traces of happiness.

"Alice," I said relieved, "may I ask you another question?" I tried to keep my voice kind and sure.

Alice didn't respond verbally, she only gave a slight nod in affirmation.

"Are you an angel?" The question sounded stupid out loud, not that it was anymore intelligent in my head

She gave a short musical laugh at my question. It was a completely beautiful sound, like wind chimes in a soft breeze. "No, I'm not an angel. Quite the opposite in fact." She flashed a radiant smile at me.

"Where's Katherine?" I asked. If she wasn't an angel, she must be a friend of Katherine; it was the only thing that made sense.

"You don't remember? You told me that she's been dead for years." Her voice cut through me like a knife. Katherine couldn't be dead.

"How long have I been asleep?" I scratched my head, all this new information was starting to eat at me. I don't even think I remember what the last thing I remember is.

"Three weeks, four days, and eleven hours." She answered, "What's the last thing that you remember?" Her voice was choked with concern that I didn't understand in the least.

"I don't. I know that my name is Aaron; I know that I'm a wizard; I know all the incantations for my evocations. I remember Katherine, but I don't know what she looks like; I remember how many vampires I killed in Phoenix. You, this room, outside, this house, all of it looks so familiar; I could probably find the bathroom without help; but I don't remember anything." I rambled on for what seemed like a week, "I want to remember; I want to remember everything. I want to explain these feelings I have, and so I'm not being too forward; I feel incredibly attracted to you."

"We were in Port Angeles," her voice was distant, "you ran off after a man in a black cloak. I found you being held by a Red Court vampire, she licked your neck, releasing venom into you. You've been in constant pain for three weeks. And, uh, we were kinda, sorta dating."

I nodded blankly; it was a lot to take in all at once. Everything made sense; I'd heard that Red Court venom can cause retrograde amnesia; but it was extremely, extremely, extremely rare, happening less than one tenth of one percent of the time.

Where'd that come from?

I couldn't help my eyes welling up with tears. "This was the first time I woke up and wasn't in pain, right?"

She nodded with a slight smile, "You're memory should start coming back in the next few days." She gave a soft chuckle, "I read it in your book." Alice sat next to me on the bed, gently leaning her head on my shoulder, "We'll get through it."

We, she said we; I feel like I barely know this creature and yet she knows me enough to help me. "I'm hungry," I said absently realizing that I probably hadn't eaten in a week.

"Let's go get something to eat then." She said pulling me up.

"Sounds good." I followed her out of the bedroom, probably her room. The house was absolutely amazing; clean, organized, and huge. It seemed completely familiar, just like Alice. "Allie, can I ask you a question; another question?"

She giggled a little before answering, "You've never called me Allie before, but yes you can ask me anything."

"Were we... are we in love?" I asked as we started down the stairs.

She stopped and stared at me, her liquid eyes seemed to quiver before she finally answered, "Yes," in a soft and hollow voice.

"Good," I said taking her hand in mine; it was cold, but I knew it would be. "Now let's go get something to eat." We slowly made our way through the rest of the empty house and into the garage.

Sudden realization hit as Allie unlocked a canary yellow Porsche. I can't describe this feeling; it's like forgetting what the sun looks like until you see it again. I just knew, or at least I thought I did. "Allie, you're a vampire, right?" I asked sliding into the front seat.

"Ya; did you figure that out or did you remember it?" Her face was trying to resist a smile.

"I think I remembered." And then another memory hit me, "you can see the future too." She smiled and nodded.

"Yes!" She squealed, wrapping her arms around my neck, pulling me closer. Her scent washed over me, suddenly so many things came back to me. It was like a dam burst; suddenly so many things hit me at once.

I broke out into a huge smile, "I still don't remember everything, but I do remember everything that involves you. The soulgaze, the first night we spent together, the trip down to Aberdeen, you pretending to leave me there, dinner, school, the lighthouse, the vacation that never happened. All of it!" Excitement filled my voice as I listed all of these old memories, new again. Alice was equally excited, knowing that I hadn't forgotten her.

"What about what happened in Port Angeles?" She asked suddenly.

"What about it?" The excitement disappeared from my voice. The happiness I was beginning to have about my mind coming back, faded to nothingness in an instant.

"Never mind, it will come back to you." Alice said placing a reassuring hand on my knee. She slid the car silently out of the driveway and into the drizzling rain. Alice headed away from town; north I think.

The ride was quiet and tense; it felt unnatural, all the memories I have between Alice and me are pleasant and comfortable. "Hey Alice?" she murmured an assent, "did we ever…you know…doinked, done the nasty, forked, fucked, made love, had sex?" I felt my face growing hot at the question.

"I thought you had all your memories about me?" She said with a wry smile.

"I do. Well I think I do. I just wanted to make sure." I could feel myself turning ten shades brighter; a reaction that, for the record, doesn't happen to me a lot.

"We haven't, no, but we were planning on it until that whole business with you and the poison. And before that I think we were planning on it during the vacation that never happened." If she could have she would have turned a brilliant shade of scarlet right about now.

I gave a few shallow nods, trying to let everything sink in. I absolutely abhor the feeling that I have to be told about my own life. At least I had all my memories of Alice, I knew, even before they came back, I loved her, and I knew she made me happy. What else do I need to know right now?

After a short eternity (I do remember that's a phrase I use all the time) I finally got the courage to ask, "Have you seen when my memories will come back?" That question that was a classic 'catch twenty-two'.

She pulled the car off to the side of the road. "I haven't had a vision of you in three weeks, I feel completely helpless." The small smile she had twisted itself into a painful grimace.

"It's okay; it's all going to be okay." I pulled her in as close as I could with the center console in the way, "They'll come back to you."

"I know they will. But it just sucks!" She pouted against my shoulder as I rubbed her back in small comforting circles. "It's just that I feel blind without them."

That was the first moment when I was absolutely sure that all of her walls were down; she was completely vulnerable, not knowing what was going to happen next. She was a scared girl instead of the scary monster.

She'd never looked more beautiful to me before. I kept her close to me, but I snaked on hand to the steering wheel and cut the ignition. The car gave an imperceptible shudder as the engine shut off, well only to normal people; Alice felt it and looked up at me with her glowing bright golden eyes. I seized the moment to kiss her passionately, before she could realize what was happening. I took her by surprise, something with her unique ability would normally be near impossible to do, she tried to back out of it; but met my hand that was wrapped around the back of her head.

She stopped fighting and went with it, enjoying the hot and steamy kiss cheap romance novel kiss. She broke off the kiss a minute later, her eyes now a dull color of gold. "Now?" She asked, her eyes beginning to smolder.

"Now." I said as an evil grin crept across my lips.

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**End Note: Please let me know one way or another if the false ending fooled anyone!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: Told ya I wasn't finished. When it's the end you'll know it. Mainly because there is a real finality to it. But that's not important now. Here's the next chapter. Oh please review if your muse feels like it.

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Chapter 29

"Not now." She said sternly.

"Not now?"

"Not here."

"Not here?"

"No." She said even more firmly than before.

"No." I gave in. I swear guys get the most mixed up signals in the world. I may not remember much, but I can remember from all the movies and TV specials that girls are supposed to find spontaneous romantic. That never ever, ever, never, ever, never, ever seems to be the case.

"When?" I asked keeping with the simple one or two syllable sentences.

"Soon," Alice crawled back into the driver seat. "Very soon," her lips turned up in a highly seductive smirk.

I groaned, mainly in my mind, but a little out loud. "Where are we going?" I asked after a long pause.

"I dunno. I was thinking Alaska; Dutch Harbor to be exact." She said in a completely serious tone.

"Alice, I grew up in Columbia, Missouri; I've lived in Chicago, and Phoenix. All of those three places have a few things in common: sun that comes out at least three times a week, average yearly temperatures above freezing, and they're all places where people out number livestock." I said joking with her; I would go anywhere just to stay near her.

"Missouri, Illinois, Arizona; those are places you lived in, don't look now but your other memories are coming in."

"I know those are all places I…" Holy shit, "I don't even remember remembering those memories, if that makes any sense."

"No, not really; I remember all of the memories I remember." Alice said in a fit of laughter. After gaining her composure she casually turned the key, starting the car she slid right back on to the near empty highway. She made a tidy U-turn going back to her house at mach three. Apparently that's what 'very soon' means in Alice Cullen's world; we were back in the garage in less than a second.

Okay it just felt like less than a second, I don't really know how long it was. Minutes I imagine. When the car finally came to a complete stop, and all tray tables and seats were in an upright and locked position, we ran into the house like a pair of giddy school girls. Emasculating I know, but it was a feeling that was the polar opposite than I felt with…with…it wasn't Katherine, it was while I was in Arizona. I guess it doesn't matter. It's certainly not something that I'm not going to obsess over for at least the next five minutes…err I mean forty-five minutes…err I mean forty-five hours.

It was a good feeling though, one I sure as hell haven't felt in years. I think Alice felt the same way; she was keeping up with my pace, but I could tell by the look in her eye that she wanted to be upstairs yesterday. I did what I could; I reached down as fast as I could, hooking one arm around her legs and the other around her shoulder. It was my turn to sweep her off her feet. For all of her rock hard skin and amazing fighting prowess she was as light as she looked. She squeaked as I caught her by surprise, and wrapped her arms around my neck placing light kisses along my neck.

I loved her not having her visions of me. I love it when I have surprise on my side.

I carried her as rapidly as I could up the seemingly endless flight of stairs; it took way, way, _way_ too long to get up the stairs and find the door to her room. Naturally the door was shut. Nothing is ever easy.

I had to kick it open. Not an easy thing to do when you're carrying someone, even someone as light and tiny as Alice. On the second kick the door flew open, along with chunks from the door frame. I didn't wait for the door to stop before I continued my frenzied sprint into her room. That's the last time I'll be using that expression today.

I felt like I just placed first in any major marathon as I finally reached the gigantic bed that had been my entire world for the last three weeks. At least this time I was going to have some fun in it.

Alice shifted in my arms, bringing her face level with mine; for the first time her golden eyes were burning solely with wanton desire. Everything in the world stopped as her cold sweet breath washed over me, causing everything in my overused brain to turn all my focus on her; her smooth flawless rock hard skin, her ever-darkening liquid topaz eyes, and her gravity defying spiked raven hair. It was like going form an old analogue TV to a state of the art high definition TV; I definitely needed to look at her like this more often, like all the time often.

An indeterminate moment passed; I just stood over the plush bed staring at my angelic demon (I'm close to getting over the whole vampire thing, I promise.)

A gently evil smile spread across her tiny face and her eyes glazed over; by the looks of it she was having a very nice vision.

So much for surprise.

After her eyes regained their normal life she leaned in, kissing me gently at first; but soon she pressed her lips into mine with all the force she could use without sending me to the hospital. The force of her relentless kiss sent both of us tumbling onto the awaiting bed. Her cold red lips never left mine as she rolled us over on out sides unlocking her strong legs from my back, and keeping her arms locked around my neck.

I may not be the most experienced man in the world, but I sure as hell wasn't sitting still and letting her do all of the work. I worked my arms underneath her short dress, a pain considering my wrist was still in a cast, rubbing her naked back as we continued towards the world record for longest kiss between a wizard and a vampire. Slowly my fingers worked their way up to her upper back. She wasn't wearing a bra, if she didn't have a vision of this; she had a feeling this was going to happen sooner rather than later.

After a close call with hypoxia I begrudgingly broke off our kiss, eliciting a small moan of frustration from Alice. Not that she stayed frustrated for much longer, I moved my lips from hers softly making my way down to her neck, biting fiercely where her pulse point would have been; she arched her back into in to my awaiting hands, letting out a feral moan of pleasure in the process. I would definitely have to remember this point for future use.

That action sent her past the point of no return, in a flash her hands were off my neck and on my shirt. A flash later and my shirt was neatly torn in two and lying on either side of the room. I'm not sure if it was her aggression or the very real fear, but something was really getting my heart going faster than it had been.

My turn, I knew with my hand what it was I couldn't simply rip her dress off her with near as much force as she used, but that didn't stop me because I have a few other neat trick up my sleeve. I focused a small bit of magic into my fingers and the dress around them; tiny needle like flames followed the seams of her dress until they were gone, causing the dress to fall in an inglorious heap beneath us.

If there is a word stronger than perfect for the naked figure in front of me I don't know it. Flawless, maybe; or angelic; but for right now I'm going to stick with perfect. Perfect was the only way to describe this beauteous creature's figure; if Alice hadn't been captured on canvas in oil, by God she should have been. The way the dull grey light seemed to easily radiate off of her, the way every curve on her body seemed to fit the very definition of beauty, and the way her eyes seemed to stare straight through me; she was perfect, I know I'm in danger of sounding like a broken record but I don't give a flying fuck.

I didn't even get a second to appreciate this beauty because before I knew it her lips crashed against mine in pure hunger, her tongue probed the deepest recesses of my mouth, as mine did hers. Her lips, her mouth, her tongue all tasted as sweetly as they smelled. Her pert breasts pushed harder into me as she began touching every part of my body she could lay her hands on.

Suddenly we both became aware of a nasty problem, I still had pants on. Not that it turned out to be a real problem, because Alice disposed of them in the same quick manner she'd used on my shirt without even breaking this newest attempt at a record long kiss. Now we were both as naked as a new born, only a whole hell of a lot less innocent. It wasn't the first time I'd been this close with Alice, in fact we were this close many times a day, but without close on it was different. I know I know duh, but the cliché is a cliché because more often than not it's true.

The truly miraculous part of the whole thing was the heat that seemed to radiate from the core of her otherwise frigid frame; either that or I was hallucinating and right now either is perfectly fine with me. When we finally reached world record length I gently pulled away from her hungry mouth moving down to my friend the pulse point former. Again she moaned and arched her back in shear ecstasy. Every inch of her, it seemed, was amazingly sweat.

Alice, not one who like to be out of control for very long, took total control of the rest of our…umm…arrangement; forcing me onto the flat of my back with her cold hands clamped onto my shoulders; her feral side getting the best of her at last.

~*~

The rest of this is something best left to the imagination, or so it has always been my opinion. Even when I was in junior high and all the other idiot teenagers where sneaking looks of free hardcore porn on the school computers when the burned out teachers weren't watching them too closely, I always thought the wind up was more interesting than the pitch, please excuse the baseball analogy.

After it was over Alice laid completely motionless in my arms, her cold bloodless skin still pressed against my warm body. I closed my eyes resting my head on her shoulder enjoying the absolute simplicity of the moment. Nothing short of an atomic bomb or an all out Faerie war was going to get me to move from this exact spot.

Alice absently shifted in my arms, pretending to be asleep; I smiled, mainly to myself, placing a light kiss under her delicate looking earlobe. "I love the way you pretend to sleep," I whispered into her ear.

"Shh, I'm asleep," she joked rolling over to face me. Her eyes were close to jet black and the circles under her eyes made her look like she went six rounds with either Mike Tyson or Chris Brown.

"Sure you are." I said with evident sarcasm gently patting her on the head.

"I need to go get something to eat before I decide your blood is too good to pass up." She sighed pecking me on the cheek before sliding out of my arms and into her closet. Alice came out of there in four seconds flat wearing what could only be described as a high end jogging suit, I think. Fashion along with décor has never been one of my strong points. With all unnecessary show she jumped out the window, heading off into the surrounding forest in a dead sprint.

I lay back down on the overstuffed bed, a goofy smile plastered on my face. I think this may be what true happiness feels like. I still have the vaguest feelings of my life other than Alice, but for right now she's enough; I like this feeling. The room seemed really familiar to me; I suppose it would, what with me living in it for the past three weeks and all.

Sleep, real, resting sleep; that was the only thing currently occupying my to-do list; though I doubt it will be until Alice gets back.


	30. Chapter 30

**No Note just read and review please.**

Chapter 30

I tossed and turned restlessly for a good three maybe four minutes until I was finally dragged into the world of sleep and of dreams. When I wake up I'll remember to add it to the list of thing I hate to be right about.

Sleep may have found me quickly and easily, but that's all that was easy about it. When the dreams started coming, they came hard and they came fast. Grotesque images of things that weren't quite human, their flesh being melted off by some unseen fire.

Then darkness set in. The darkness gave me a precious respite from the terror around me.

The darkness faded, leaving me alone in the center of a blood soaked field, the smell of rotting flesh blanketing the air around me. Scattered around the field were severed arms and legs lying limply on the once green grass. The images would have been much easier to bear if they weren't true and if they had context.

The darkness came back, leaving me to gently rock myself in the relative safety of the black. Dry, heavy sobs came from deep in my gut, violently shaking me to my core.

And the darkness was gone; this time in a brilliant flash of white light.

I was lying on a small lumpy bed naked, a fresh set of cuts across my chest, and my hands where bound above my head. A woman, straddling my hips, held a wickedly curved knife that gleamed with blood…my blood. She brought the red blade to her lips and gave it a sensuous lick, never for a moment taking her glassy obsidian eyes off of me. Flashing a depraved white smile she gently set the knife down on the end table, before turning her full attention to me. She, Lindsay I think her name was, ran her warm hands in the sticky blood, like a child finger painting. Her face rolled back in absolute ecstasy and abandon as she played with my blood; she lowered her face to my chest licking the sticky red liquid from it.

I'm not sure what if most frightening of this last dream was what she did to me, or that I actually enjoyed what she did.

The last dream memory was too much. I was fighting back tears as I curled into a tiny ball in the black recesses of my mine, hiding from all the memories of pain. Have I not had a pleasant memory in the last three years?

Then, like the Calvary riding in at the last moment, Alice appeared in my shelter of darkness; her face the image of serenity. "Aaron, it's me. Everything will be alright." Her voice was calm and even as she knelt beside me cupping my face in her tiny hands.

A shiver ran up my spine and my eyes opened. I was in the real world again, not that world where my own demons decide to poke me with hot pokers. My head was held tightly against Alice's chest as she rocked me back and forth. I've never felt so helpless in my life, here I was supposed to be a big scary wizard, and I was paralyzed by nightmares. I squeezed my eyes shut trying to make all of this go away.

"It's okay," Allie whispered gently rubbing my back.

"Allie, I saw…I saw so many terrible things. Things I want to forget, but I never will." I rambled on wrapping my arms around her slender waist

"I know, I know; just relax. I'm here; everything is going to be all right." She continued to whisper into my ear, calming me down.

After a long pause I said, "Thanks…for being here, for helping me, for staying with me. I really, _really_ love you." Apparently no matter how hard I try I continue to sound like an idiot.

"I love you more." She said sticking her tongue out at me. A smile instantly jumped to my lips.

A comfortable silence settled across the room; I took the moment to shift myself to a more masculine position. I pulled Alice against me and rested my head on top of hers. "I know this is stupid to ask a seer, but do you believe in fate?" I said into her hair.

"I've been seeing the future since I was human; I've never really thought of things in terms of some greater cosmic plan only people's choices. So I guess the answer is: I'm not sure. Why?"

"I don't know. I was just thinking that fate brought me here. Maybe the reason I had to kill Katherine was just to get me to Phoenix; and maybe the whole reason to be in Phoenix was to meet Her. Which sent me to Sacramento, to do whatever it is I did there for three months. And all of that led me here to be with you." I said tilting her head up to meet my gaze.

"I don't have all the answers," Alice sighed breaking out in a radiant smile, "I only pretend like I do."

Silence returned to the room, this one slightly more uncomfortable than the one before; we both knew what was next.

"Why are you talking about all of these things?" A flash of concern crossed her eyes.

"I dunno," I confessed, "I just thought that all the crap in my life led me to you at the right time, and the right place. And then I wondered: if Katherine were to come back right now, would I go back to her. I know that you've must have thought the same thing, but I just thought...sorry I'm rambling again." I caught myself, too late as I felt the familiar sting of tears grace my eyes. The only thing holding me together at that moment was Alice, and her amazingly cold arms.

"I wouldn't blame you if you went back to her. It would kill me inside…but I wouldn't blame you." She said nuzzling into my neck, tears that would never fall began to well up in her eyes.

"Then I figured out my answer." I said ignoring what she just said, "and I don't think I would; I know I wouldn't, and I know it would kill me inside. At the same time the thought of hurting you makes me sick and the thought of being with you forever makes me happier than I ever thought possible." Even Alice couldn't keep the tears from coming at this point. I've lost so many guy points so far, why start worrying about them now?

Her grip around my ribs tightened, straining my freshly healed ribs; she buried her face further into my neck, letting out dry sobs.

Now it was my turn to hold her closer, fighting back the urge to say something. Anything I say wouldn't help, so I have to content myself with just holding her as close as I could.

Alice sobbed into my shoulder for a few minutes more; her sobs gradually softening until it felt less like a sob and more like a gentle shiver. "I don't know if I could say the same." Allie chocked out after a long, long time.

"I don't expect you too, Jasper's been gone for what, a month? Katherine's been dead for three very long years; I've had a lot of time to get past her." I said, absently rubbing her back.

"Thanks," my pixie offered timidly, gripping onto the shirt I didn't realize I wore.

"Let's go do something," I said picking her up, noting that I was fully dressed. Did I do that, or did Allie do it for me?

"Like what?" She asked, lifting her head up.

"I don't know, is there a decent movie playing?" I said setting her down on the edge of the bed.

A mischievous smile crossed her pale face "There's a new vampire movie that just came out. Want to see it and pick on all the inaccuracies." I knew the question wasn't much of a question, she probably saw the future and saw that I was going to say yes. "Good, that's a yes." She answered before I even managed to open my mouth.

Ten minutes later I was strapped in to the front seat of The Porsche (yes it's a proper noun!) We headed south, I think, towards an awaiting movie theater; I think we were headed to Aberdeen, but don't quote me on that, my geography is still a bit hazy. The rain was coming down in a thin drizzle that barely had a chance to make contact with the windshield. Everything around us was a green blur, so I decided to take another nap; hopefully this time wouldn't involve nightmares. On second thought I'll look at the pretty green blurs.

Nerves ate at me the entire ride, nothing I could put my finger on exactly, but something very real. I half expected to see a troll jump out of the forest and crush the car with us inside. Not that I expected to see that exact thing, but you get the idea. I hope. I guess the whole message is it felt like something bad was going to happen, and I didn't have anything to protect us. No blasting rod, no staff, no shield bracelet, no nothing.

I really should have my head looked at again, I feel like my mind is just rambling. Maybe it is.

We rode in silence for most of the ride, other than the obligatory small talk. I was living in my mind, trying to unlock some context for the memories I was surely recovering. That was the frustrating part, being able to see certain things, but not knowing what or why. That's amnesia for you.

The movie theater in Aberdeen is right on the edge of town, not enough room in the town I guess. It was a modern movie theater with all sorts of neon light (the bright kind you can see from outer space) and movie posters lining the walls in glass display cases.

Alice swerved her Porsche into the parking lot eliciting a lot of shocked expressions from a group of high school jocks complete with letterman's jackets. Their jaws hit the ground the moment Alice stepped out of the driver's door. I didn't have to have any special powers to know that all six of them had the exact same thought – Alice naked on the hood of the Porsche. I know what they were thinking because I had the exact same thought. A smile tugged at the corner of my mouth as I stepped out.

A stiff breeze picked up as I shut my own door raising the hair on my neck. "Not now, please not now." I muttered under my breath as I pulled my coat. I was actively ignoring every instinct in my body that something wasn't right.

"What's wrong?" Alice whispered cheerfully, linking her arm through mine.

"I dunno; something just doesn't feel right." I said starting towards the box office, "Maybe it's the weather; I don't really like storms." I added sensing Alice's hesitation. I didn't like storms, true enough, but the anxiety I was feeling came from something else.

"Let's just skip the movie and go home and watch a movie. I think we have an old projector and real reels." Alice said, laughing at her own little pun. She pulled on my arm lightly, but enough to throw me off balance.

"Okay," I agreed trying to mask the relief I was feeling, "If you insist."

We turned and walked back to the car, Alice molding to my side. Even through the light overcoat she was wearing I could feel her comfortable iciness contrasting with the bleak cold wind that worked its way through my heavy black coat.

The idiot jocks were gone when we got back to the car. "You know this is the second time we started to go somewhere today before we turned around and went home." I said when she pulled away from me to go to the driver's side.

"True, but the first time was important business, and I don't feel like being out tonight." She said with a short giggle.


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

The ride back to Dank Town, formerly known as Forks, seemed much shorter than the drive down to Aberdeen. For most of the ride I was content to stare out the window and play with Alice's unoccupied hand; tracing patterns on the back of her hand with my thumb. The pangs of anxiety continued to burst through me at irregular intervals. The closer to the house we got, the more frequently the anxiety hit me.

I did all I could to hide the symptoms, but knowing Alice would be able to hear my heartbeat from a mile away, and my breathing from a mile and a half wasn't terribly reassuring. I've had this feeling a grand total of twice in my life: the first when I was coming home from vacation and I knew that my dog died, and the second when I knew what Choice Katherine was going to make. Neither one turned out well for me, this wasn't going to turn out well either.

"Something's wrong." I mumbled to myself, so quiet even I didn't think Alice would hear me.

"Relax," she smiled at me, "If something was wrong, wouldn't I know it?" Alice moved her hand to my knee in an attempt to reassure me.

It didn't work.

"Maybe you're right; I just have a bad feeling." I said, unconsciously rubbing my hands together.

The car continued to roll along the dark road in near silence, the engine purred, the darkness streaked by, and my anxiety grew. Unconsciously my leg began bouncing up and down with each passing second, sweat began welling up in my hands, and my heart started beating its rhythmic cadence even faster.

I squeezed my eyes shut, desperately using every technique that I'd been taught to control my nerves. Nothing helped, not deep breathing, not creative visualization, nothing. Reluctantly I opened my eyes, and was greeted by a slightly disturbing sight. The blackness surrounding the moving car was now topped with an eerie red glow to the tops of the trees.

"You're still going to try and tell me that nothing is wrong." I said hurriedly to Alice pointing to the light topping the trees.

"I would know if something was wrong. Wouldn't I?" My seer replied with a new formed look of worry.

"Not if someone threw up a veil or a glamour. Then you would see something and not even realize something was wrong." A plethora of terrible thoughts were cascading through my mind.

If it's even possible for a vampire to become pale, Alice did it. The normally bubbly exterior was shattered with a severe look of worry. "At least no one's there," she breathed in relief.

"What do you mean, where is everyone?" I asked, suddenly wishing I had some of my magical stuff with me.

"When you were…asleep everyone left to go to Alaska. They thought it would be safe there." She explained never taking her eyes off the brightening ring of orange, "I didn't like what I saw if we went with them, so I stayed with you."

"Thanks," I said purely out of habit, "you didn't happen to pack any of my magical do-dads in the car did you?" I would feel better if I had some way of protecting the two of us.

"I only have this," She said pulling a black plastic case from under her seat. I recognized it immediately I hadn't seen the case or what was inside it since Victoria tried to attack.

I popped the two red latches, opening the black lid; staring at me from the padded case was my reliable Desert Eagle. I quickly checked the magazine, empty. Pulling up the bottom of the padding, seven large metallic rounds rolled to the fore front. I managed to load the magazine with my shaking hands, before ramming the magazine home and pressing the slide release. A satisfying metallic clink echoed through the car. I've proven that the pistol does little against Alice's brand of vampire, but it does do a hell of a lot of damage to most creatures. Without thinking I slid the hand cannon into the breast pocket of my coat.

Murphy's Law exists for a reason, if something can go wrong it always will. It seems that it follows me around like the plague. We rounded the final bend, and instead of the perfectly manicured front lawn we were greeted by a flaming hulk of a house.

The three story complex was ablaze in a myriad of reds, oranges, and yellows. The once prominent plate glass windows were shattered, or beginning to melt under the intense heat of the fire. The manicured lawn and greenery were beginning to turn brow.

"I…I…I should have this. I should have seen this coming!" Alice stuttered, cutting the engine; she buried her face in my shirt, heaving dry sobs for the umpteenth time since I met her.

Her reaction was a testament to her total speed. My brain barely had time to comprehend what I was seeing. The house was on fire and all of my magical equipment was inside, getting the eternal kiss of death: my staff, gone, my blasting rod, gone, my shield bracelet, my speed charm, my sword, my cloak, gone, gone, gone, and gone. At least my books were safe in the lighthouse protected by some serious wards; I hope.

Isn't it funny what you worry about when your life is literally changing in front of your eyes? What or who started the fire didn't cross my mind at all. I was focused solely on what I was losing in the fire, and what Alice had already lost.

Alice was frozen into my arms, still sobbing when I undid my seatbelt and lifted her from the car. I stared as the flames while I ran my fingers through her hair. "I've made fire hundreds of times," I whispered gently, "And it's never looked so menacing." Newly formed tears started to trickle down my cheeks, landing in three week old stubble. I wasn't sure who I was trying to comfort now: Alice or myself. My knees gave out from under me, knocking us both to the rain soaked grass below.

Twisting shadows menacingly danced around us, cast off from flames. I closed my eyes again, hiding from the flames in Alice's head. My nostrils burnt with the heat and the sulfur.

Sulfur. The smell of sulfur could mean only one thing – Hellfire. The fires of destruction that literally come from Hell itself; most people who use them are the worst kind of magic users on the face of the planet, or worse.

The smell suddenly brought back a torrent of unpleasant memories. More burned flesh, sick and mangled corpses with their faces melted off, a hand red and raw with fingers that didn't have any skin on them. I instinctively clutched Alice tighter wishing the memories away, hoping that her closeness would protect me from the torture of my mind.

I don't think I will ever know how long we sat on the grass watching the house burn; it could have been just two minutes, but it could have easily have been close to two hours. What I do know is that Alice continued to jerk in heavy sobs, and I know at some point in time I willed my eyes open – watching the horror with my own eyes.

The indefinite moments ticked by in a slow methodical fashion; the flames leapt higher, trying to enlist the trees in their private holocaust. Shadows continued to dance menacingly as I stared at the flames, never wavering at all.

Then in a bizarre way things started to happen all at once. A more pronounced shadow began to emerge from the burning house that had begun to weaken and collapse; at the _exact_ same time Alice's head snapped up and twisted to meet the shadow.

Not a second later she broke free from my arms, standing to face the shadow. The shadow-man slowly began to lumber towards the two of us, as I managed to get enough control of myself to get my legs firmly beneath me. My hand immediately went to the butt of my cannon.

The shadow continued to lurch forward in slow, lumbering strides.

"Jazz," Alice said just above a whisper, "Jazz, you're alive!" She bolted towards the shadow without a second's hesitation.

Everything suddenly moved in a kind of slow motion that never foreshadow pleasant events, the kind of slow motion that most people associate with bad news. The adrenaline kicked my mind into overdrive, unfortunately my body wouldn't respond in kind. The shadow looked exactly like Jasper, from what I remember of him, except his hair wasn't matted and his eyes didn't have a hauntingly red tinge to them.

Out of instinct I opened my Sight; immediately I was able to see through the glamour surrounding Shadow-Jasper. Two grey eyes and a pallid face. The alley, the vampire, the venom, my wrist; it all poured into my mind.

I reached out, grabbing for Alice's shirt; she was way too fast and I missed it by a mile. "Alice It's not him! It's not Jasper." I cried out…too late.

I watched helplessly as the warlock moved in slow motion; catching Alice by the wrist he clutched her to his chest, like a human shield. In another slow flash my silver rapier was pushed against her throat. I watched, frozen by the horror before me; I numbly reached for the butt of the eagle, distantly I felt the cold metal in the palm of my hand.

"You didn't think I wouldn't come back to finish the job, did you?" Shadow asked, pressing the rapier harder against Alice's throat. "But I think mercy is for the weak, so before I kill you…you're going to watch your little undead whore die."

"No!" I shouted, becoming acutely aware of my surroundings. "Enough people have died because of you." Carefully I leveled the gun at his head, taking careful aim. One shot is all I would need.

"You don't have the fucking guts to pull that trigger, not when you know that the bitch here would die when I fell." He mocked me, moving the blade in a methodical cut. A thin red line appeared on her neck, slowly oozing thick red blood.

I shouted angrily, spasmodically pulling the trigger. The shot went wide missing Shadow, by a foot. He just laughed, pulling the blade away from her neck, sliding it down to her belly. Cutting through her clothing and leaving a giant red trail of blood down her chest.

"Was that supposed to scare me?" He barked out a laugh. Alice, for all her super human strength struggled uselessly against his grasp.

"If you had the guts to kill her, you would have done it already." I challenged back, faking confidence and machismo.

"Oh, I guess you're right." He said with fake surprise. Never taking his eyes off me he deftly slid the blade across her stomach. Blood poured from it immediately, and with it came her intestines.

That fucker, no one can gut my girlfriend and dream of getting away with it. Two more shots emerged from my cannon in rapid succession. The first one slammed into a wall of invisible energy flattening on impact, the second somehow managed to shatter the barrier. The gun barked again, unleashing round number four, with almost perfect accuracy, considering the sheer size of the cannon. The round hurdled towards him at supersonic speed, grazing his shoulder, sending him off balance, and causing him to release Alice from his death grip.

She flopped listlessly to the ground below, her eyes frozen open and glassy; staring at me. Blood continued to empty out of her petite body and soak the grass.

I didn't give the fucker a chance to recover, bullet five roared out of the muzzle striking him in the other shoulder. Shadow didn't go down, he recovered faster the second time even with the bullet tearing through his shoulder instead of grazing it.

With a flick of his wrist, the gun flew from my hand and into a tree with a heavy thud, before quickly falling to the ground. I silently prayed that it wasn't broken; if it was, I'd be armed with only wild emotion and unfocused magic.

"You're dead." I said through clenched teeth. Magic welled up, swirling in torrents around me; I've never felt so much power inside me. The love, the anger, the pain, the despair, and the hatred mixed together, it was an intoxicating amount of power.

"Oh, I am, am I? I would love to see you try." His voice was cold and deliberate as he flicked his hand again, throwing a white hot bolt of fire towards me.

I threw myself out of the way; the bolt singed the bottom of my heavy wool coat as it disappeared into the forest behind me.

I stood up as fast as I could, which compared to everyone around me was painfully slow; my legs were slowly turning into jelly beneath me. Three weeks without solid food will do that to a person.

"I thought you were going to kill me?" Shadow chided.

This bastard was seriously getting on my nerves; I was supposed to be the sarcastic smartass! I started to ignore the unsteadiness in my legs as I tried to focus the raw potential around me. Electricity arced between my fingers when I leveled my hand against him.

"Levitas pentas!" I shouted pouring all the magic I could into the evocation. Five bright blue bolts of lightning leapt from the tips of my fingers hurling themselves at Shadow at the speed of light. The first two sailed harmlessly past him, striking somewhere in the burning hulk of the house. The other three were spot on; one struck him in the chest, the two others struck him in either arm. He collapsed to the ground convulsing, twitching, but not dead.

I called up more magic to strike a kill shot, but I couldn't, I'd completely exhausted myself before I could kill him. Son of a whore. As much pain as he was in now; it would mean nothing in about ten seconds when his central nervous system started working again.

So I did what anyone would do in my position, I ran up and kicked him in the face. Twice; as hard as I could. When the twitching stopped Shadow didn't try to get up.

I haven't had a chance to think about this before, but fights just aren't that epic in real life. If this was a movie Shadow and I would be slinging spells at each other for an hour, before we ended up both firing a spell that would intercept one another and we would have to push and push and push until one of us finally gives out and then the other wins. Then there is some heavy breathing and some triumph.

Back in the real world, I bent down and wrenched my sword from his fucking hand and put it straight through his god forsaken heart. I could feel his heartbeat tremble, once, twice and then it died, his hitched into one final wheeze. I never killed a human before, it was so much different then killing vampires, or faeries, but you actually feel the life leaving the body.

In my estimation he didn't deserve a relatively painless death; he should have been flayed open and skinned alive, for what he did to Katherine, for what he did to Jasper, for what he did to me, and for what he did to…

Alice.

My Alice.

Oh god, Alice. I dropped the sword and ran to her, she was lying where she fell, cut from end to end; her cold blood still oozing out taking her intestines with them. Tears started pouring from my eyes as I cradled her frozen head. Her golden eyes had glassed over, as they stared into the grey sky. There were still shallow breaths coming from somewhere inside her, "A…Aaron…" she never finished that sentence.

"Alice, I'm sorry, I'm so, so sorry. What did I do, I should have been there to protect you in the end, you deserved so much better than this." I sobbed into her silky hair, holding her as close to me as I could. "But I kept my promise, both of them. I know why Jasper died; he died for you. He died protecting you. He wanted to make sure you were safe, no matter what; no matter if he died to protect you, he didn't care if he died, as long as you were safe. He was scared of the Dhampir, he wanted to make sure you lived as long as you could."

"And I'm alright, just like I promised." Too bad it didn't mean anything without her to be there with me. "You know, it's funny." I barked out a short laugh that instantly mixed with a harsh sob, "The last time I dreamed of Katherine I told her…I told her I wished I could find a way you two could meet. I think that you will really like her – thought you would really like her. I just didn't know that it would happen so soon." I couldn't keep talking; I couldn't keep thinking.

I let go of Alice's cold head, placing it gently on the ground. "I love you, and I will always love you." I kissed her lightly on the lips – one last time. I managed to close her eyes and cross her arms across her chest. She still deserves some dignity in death. She also deserves as much beauty as possible; I slowly closed my hands and with a whisper of will conjured another white rose.

After gently tucking it behind her ear, I stood up in a haze and a stupor. Everything in my body felt like numb, like I wasn't able to control anything; my hands, my feet, hell I couldn't control my head. My feet slowly dragged themselves to a glinting piece of steel hiding under one of the trees.

My hand unconsciously reached for the butt of the moss covered gun. So Alice's vision will come to pass after all. The only thing that would change was my wardrobe. Replace my cloak for a wool coat and it would be the same.

It's amazing how dethatched I was from what I was about to do. My knees gave out from under me forcing me harshly to the ground; a trembling hand slowly raised the dented pistol, there was a good chance this would be the last bullet my gun ever fired.

That was all I would need. One little tiny squeeze and I would be with Alice again, and maybe Katherine. Something had to happen to her soul, why not go where all souls go. My hand pressed the cold steel against my temple.

"Don't!"

I stopped immediately looking around trying to find the voice, but there was nothing around me except two very dead bodies, a burning mansion, and an empty forest; but nothing that can talk.

Wearily I raised the muzzle back to my temple, hesitating, taking a few last ragged breaths.

Before I could pull the trigger I heard a voice echoing in my mind "If you love me, do not do this." It was Alice; her sweet melodic voice filled me. I still couldn't drop the gun; the cold steel was a far cry from her cold and comforting hands. "We will meet again; but not if you do this."

"What?" I asked despairingly to the empty space around me.

There was no response, just silence. As miraculous as the voice had been, it was gone now, and I don't think it will ever come back.

I was suddenly wracked with terrible, heaving sobs. Four simple words had reduced me to a writhing pile of flesh and bone.

We will meet again.

My mind replayed them over, and over, and over, and over again; each time Alice's voice was crystal clear. Compounded, all of this was too much for my recovering mind to take; I passed out on the cold ground.

Finally letting the pistol fall loose from my fingers.

I woke up and it was dark, there were no stars, no moon, no fire; I was wrapped in a blanket of darkness. Every fiber of my being ached when I tried to stand.

I vaguely remembered that there should be a car somewhere behind me. Numbly I staggered in the darkness, trying to find the car in the inky blackness. My legs took me there instantly, the sleek yellow managed to shimmer in the darkness, like its former owner. An invisible knife plunged into my heart again at the thought of my love.

Somehow, I made it to the driver's door and slid in. It smelled so much like here; I would have to get rid of it immediately. Old wounds opened up immediately, joined by even worse fresh ones.

I had to leave, I had to get out of there, and I had to run. I had to run; because that's what I did when things got hard. Things go bad at home, and I run to Phoenix; when shit got too hard there, I ran to California; and from there Forks. Where would I run now?

It doesn't matter, it never mattered. In the end I was too cowardly to stick it out and fight; I chose the easy way out. Courage, bravery, valor: those things are _not_ shooting a gun or using a sword. They're wading through the shit that comes after the battle. That's something I'm incapable of doing.

I turned the key in the ignition; the Porsche started right up, with it the radio; the one thing that wasn't either replaced or not taken out to wizard proof the car. Though I never remember it being turned on.

"The world is full of happiness that I will never know!" The radio blared before I shut if off…strange thing is that one line perfectly described the past five years of my life…And probably the rest of it.

I drove well into the pre-dawn twilight, and when the car finally ran empty, I left it on the side of the road and set out on foot. When the sun finally rose I tore a hole into the Nevernever and kept walking.

* * *

**A/N: This is the end of Blurred Lines, well it could be, I did write an Epilogue for it and I'm willing to publish it if you, my readers, want it. There is a poll up on my profile page. Go vote...please.**


	32. Epilogue

Blurred Lines12

**A/N: I now the poll wasn't up that long, but after talking to Jocelyn Torrent I decided I would definitely put this up ASAP. So this is for you JT!**

Epilogue

When I left Forks I left Forks for good, never looking back.

It wasn't that hard.

Most people didn't know who I really was, so who am I to waste a thought on them? The few, who did know that I was Aaron Marsdon, not Aaron Brown, also knew that their sister, daughter, and/or best friend loved me – and I let her die. In my short life I've learned never to piss off a group of vampires and stick around.

That one I learned from Harry.

I don't regret leaving the Cullen's behind; they were very good to me, better than they should have been given what I did to them before I knew them. If someone had killed anyone close to me, I don't think I would have been very kind to them. I know that it was because of Alice in some large way, but also because Carlisle wasn't ruled by emotions. If only people could think that logically the world would be a lot better off.

I also learned that Alice was the only reason I still cared, she gave the shriveled piece of beef jerky I called a heart new life. But when she died…I couldn't care anymore; I tried to. I tried to care about Bella's fate, or Jessica's fate, or the fates of the other people I called friends; Harry, Carlos, Anastasia.

Plain and simple – I couldn't. I tried and I failed, and when I failed I stopped trying.

I have a lot of time to think these days, and right now that isn't a good thing. I remember the precious good memories. But I mostly dwell on the bad ones, it seems that I learned how to deal with pain and not cry. I don't think I _can _cry anymore.

I haven't had a single dream about Alice since she died, but then again I haven't slept more than two hours at a time since that night. I haven't had a dream about Katherine either, I wonder if they've met each other yet?

I have never been religious in any sense of that word, but you only have to meet some of the Knights of the Cross to realize that there is indeed a god. And if there is a god isn't there supposed to be an afterlife? I have a long time to find an answer to that last question, so I'm not going to worry about it for a long while.

After all the shit my life went through I didn't want to be around people ever again. When some people have bad luck they're the ones who get hurt; I, on the other hand, have a nasty habit of getting the people that I love and love me hurt. It's for the best that I disappear for a while.

Maybe for the rest of my unnaturally long life.

Somehow I ended up in Faerie for nearly two years. It's weird, I don't remember ever opening a portal to faerie and I don't remember ever stepping in, but I do remember trying to live there. For the most part I just wandered around until I became a regular enough fixture that nothing tried to bother me anymore. I avoided Winter like the plague, I'm smart enough to realize that after all these years Mab still may hold a grudge for what I did to _her_ Katherine. Eventually all of my memories came back, and there are some in that time I wish would have stayed buried deep in my subconscious. Sometimes the good memories hurt just as much as the bad ones. The psychic wounds left on my heart somehow managed to scab over. I truly doubt they will ever heal.

Every mention of Alice, every stray thought her hurt more and more as the days turned to weeks. I would never admit it, even to myself, but in the end I think I loved Alice more than Katherine. Katherine was my first, her flame burned hot and fast; but Alice, the flame burned just as hot, but beyond it there was staying power to it. I only had her in my life for a month, so I guess I'll never know

For the most part I spent my days in Summer. I managed to come to a peaceful arrangement with Titania; I would do everything I could to stay out of her way, and she wouldn't squash me like a bug. In Faerie that's a good relationship with the queen.

I spent the vast majority of my days in complete isolation; I reveled in the sheer simplicity and the beauty of Faerie. While I was there my only friend, if that term even has meaning to a faerie, was Lily, the Summer Lady (the fae courts version of a princess.)

I never did learn to trust her, but she did everything she could to convince me that she wouldn't trick me. Faeries are bound by their word, but only their word, in other words they can't lie. So everything she said was in explicit legalese that way she couldn't trick me.

Not once have I ever felt anything romantic towards her. I think whatever part of me that is able to love died with Alice on that terrible March night. Even years later I still couldn't feel any kind of love, but at least I now had a friend. Whatever that was worth, on most nights it didn't feel like much. I felt for Lily though, having a huge responsibility thrust on to her when the last Lady was killed. Whatever it was with her she became a good friend and never minded me hanging around.

It was because of her I finally had the nerve to go back to Chicago and see Harry.

She walked me to the nearest Way into Chicago, gave me directions to his apartment, and gave me a quick reassuring kiss on the cheek. She smiled and waved to me as the portal to Fearie closed.

Chicago hadn't really changed much in the five years since I'd last been there. It may have been a few inches lower, but it is Chicago. Summers here are still freaking hot and humid, even when you're living in a place that's called Summer. I remembered Lilly's directions and managed to turn up at Harry's boarding house. The Blue Beetle sat bashed and bruised on the street; so either Harry's home, or the beetle crapped out again. I walked around back of the old brick house and down the few stairs to Harry's basement appartment.

I gave it a few quick pounds, and a moment later a familiar voice started swearing violently at the door. A seemingly hour later and a few words I wouldn't want to repeat in mixed company Harry's grizzled face appeared on the other side of the threshold.

"Holy shit kid," he muttered, "I figured you for dead." For someone as sarcastic and quick witted as Harry Dresden to be rendered nigh-on speechless. He must have really been worried about me.

"I felt like I was." I responded in a quiet and emotionless shell of a voice.

"Get in here kid." He said grabbing me into a bear hug. "You have some serious 'splainin' to do."

"Ya, I suppose I do." I said breaking free from his grasp and plopping down on his couch. "I guess I should start after you left."

"That would be a good start." He replied offering me one of Mac's home brewed brown ale. I waved it off (I'm not much of a drinker) he tossed me a Coke instead, before talking seat in his overstuffed arm chair.

"Well," I said popping the top of the coke, before I continued.

It took well over two hours to tell him just what happened. I started with waking up with no memories, Alice's death, Shadow's death, and my running away. I still couldn't believe that I'd been out of this world for almost two years. My story really wasn't that exciting, but it was really depressing. . I finished by telling him that I've been wandering around Faerie, and becoming 'friends' with Lily.

When I was done Harry managed to tell me what I missed here in the real world Morgan, one of the biggest bastards and probably the most loyal warden, was accused of treason, and is now dead. The black council is getting stronger and somehow managed to get one of their own on the Senior Council. That was after killing off one of the former Senior Council members. And that was just the first year that I missed. I stopped him after that; I really don't want to know just how bad the shit's hit the fan since I left.

"So what are you going to do from here?" Harry asked as I was getting ready to leave.

"To tell you the truth, Harry, I haven't really thought about it. The only reason I came here today was because of Lilly. She keeps trying to convince me to go back to my real life." I said leaning against Harry's door.

"Well this might help you decide." Harry said handing me a small envelope. "Before you ask I don't know what it is or where it came from. But it _is_ addressed to you. It came with the mail yesterday; I figured I'd hang onto it for a while in case you ever stopped by. I kinda figured I'd be hanging on to it longer than a day."

I opened the simple envelope with shaking hands. Inside was nothing but a small slip of blank paper. Curious I turned it over in my hand; on the back was an address written in a familiarly foreign script.

"_120 East Delaware. Room 1625"_

"One-twenty East Delaware," I repeated out loud, "Do you know where this is?"

Harry furrowed his brow for a moment before he spoke "That's the Four Seasons, ya I know where it is."

"Is it very far?" I asked wishing I remembered how to navigate around Chicago.

"Not too far, I'll take you if you want." Harry offered grabbing the keys to the Blue Beetle.

"Thanks" I said slipping the note back in the envelope.

The two of us piled into Harry's cramped old beetle that no longer had any blue on it. The only new addition was a spray painted '56' in a circle. I'm sure at one point the Blue Beetle was blue, but over the years damage forced replacement parts of all different colors to be put on at discount prices. But it was always the Blue Beetle, never Herbie.

"I can't believe someone desecrated the Blue Beetle like that." I said once Harry started the engine.

"I know, I wash it off and a week later it's back. If I ever catch who did it I'll set their shoes on fire." He replied coolly, shifting the car into gear. Apparently I get my shoe-fire penchant from Harry.

The ride in the beetle was only slightly quieter than a ride in Bella's old rusty pickup. Wow that may have been the first time I ever thought about someone from that life and it wasn't Alice. A shiver rolled up and down my spine. Though it may be more from the nerves of whatever or whoever waited for me in room sixteen twenty-five.

The ride lasted for more than thirty minutes in Chicago traffic and we only covered ten miles or so. The beetle sputtered to a stop in front of the outrageously posh Four Seasons, looking outrageously out of place next to the Mercedes', Lexus', and Porsches.

"Thanks." I said pushing the door open; praying that it wouldn't snap off at the hinges.

"Do need me to stick around?" Harry asked eyeing the hotel nervously.

"No thanks, I think I can manage it." I said slamming the door shut.

I watched for a moment as Harry drove off at half the speed of taste. I turned towards the massive hotel, scanning up sixteen floors, silently wondering just what waited for me. I had my doubts that it would be someone trying to kill me; most assassins try to find someplace quiet, not a crowded hotel.

Maybe it was Lilly? She was the only creature who knew I would be visiting Chicago today before I got here. For the past year and a half I've made it quite clear that I have no romantic feelings for her; but that still hasn't stopped her from trying. Maybe this is her way of catching me off guard on my turf.

It didn't matter right now. I started walking towards the large glass doors, noticing the humidity for the first time.

A doorman in a traditional uniform opened the door for me, letting a heavy blast of cold air hit me in square in the face. I muttered a quick 'thank you' to the doorman and walked into the old world lobby. Even living in Faerie for almost two years it was still quite magnificent. Decorated in a multitude of rich gold's and deep reds, it almost made me question why I left in the first place.

I opened the envelope again, checking the note again to make sure I memorized the right room number. Yup, sixteen twenty-five it is, that's a ton of stairs. I silently swore to myself as I walked to the front desk.

The only open terminal was operated by a woman who looked no more than twenty-five, "Can I help you sir?" She asked with a slight southern accent.

"Yes," I said barely above a whisper, "I had a big dinner and kind of want to walk it off. Could you tell me where the staircase is?"

The woman behind the counter smiled slightly, "Go to the elevator and turn left, the stars will be the third door on your right."

I thanked her and quickly headed to the stairs. In a hotel that caters primarily to businessmen, like the Four Seasons, very few people take the stairs, especially to the sixteenth floor. There wasn't a single soul in the stair well all the way up.

I reached to the sixteenth floor out of breath and starting to sweat, and I didn't even run.

I walked down the hall briskly, my stomach turning in knots while my heart started leaping into my throat. I've never been more nervous in my life; this is not only completely unexpected, but there is no way that this won't be a surprise.

1621

1623

Here we are, 1625. I shook my hand out quickly, bringing it up to the door, sweaty palm and all. I hesitated for a long moment, before I was able to rap my knuckles against it.

Rap

Rap

Rap

I managed to relax and tense up at the same time: the relaxation came from the knowledge that whatever was going to happen was out of my hands and the tension came from the sheer unknown that was waiting for me in this hotel.

My ever fraying nerves didn't have long to wait, a short moment later the door to the suite gently opened. Whoever was in the room didn't even wait until the door was open before a voice said "What took you so long?"

The door finished opening by the time my jaw had hit the floor. The owner of the voice was someone I hadn't seen for what seemed like a half a millennia. My eyes lost complete focus, and I couldn't see anything but the barest of outlines. Hair the same color as the night sky, an impish frame, and beauty that no artist could ever capture.

"Alice," I breathed, vainly attempting to hide the tears that were forming.

"Aaron," her breath hitched.

The two of us stood there for a long moment staring at the other, marveling that we were actually seeing each other again.

"Wha…ho…wh–" I tried to form a question, but Alice stopped my babbling with a kiss.

It was like we had never parted. I molded my lips to hers, crossing into her suite, and kicking the door behind me.

Alice eventually and reluctantly tore her lips away from mine. "I don't know why I'm back, but I am. And I knew it was you that I was brought back for."

Now it was my turn to kiss her. I moved in suddenly; cupping her delicate face with my hand and pressing my lips to hers, and wrapping a firm arm around her waist. It was also my turn to break the kiss. "I don't care what brought you back, but all I know is that you're here now. Nothing else matters."

**Final Note: There is the right and true end to **_**Blurred Lines**_**. I don't know what kind of ride this was for you, but for me it was a long and emotional ride. I finally finished the epilogue at 8:02 P.M. on June 26, 2009. I started this project back on December 10, 2008, six months and sixteen days later I'm finished. For anyone reading this I thank you for sticking through this, and I beg of you to tell me what you thought of this story as a whole; after all you are the whole reason I wrote this.**

**To those who believe I dropped the ball and/or killed several key plot points. I did that for a reason, mainly because this story is told throughout in the eyes of Aaron Marsdon. A man who had one reason to care, Alice, and when she was killed he no longer had the ability to care. I have thought of the answers for all the questions you may ask, and many you may not. I welcome your questions with open arms and I will answer them, gladly.**

**So, dear reader, I say farewell to you and if you wish to know my answers for your questions all you have to do is ask, and I will do my best to answer you. I hope to see all of you in another story.**


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